O2/Be use ADSL2+ technology for their broadband (Upto 24 Mbps) whereas AOL are only offering upto 8Mbps download (older ADSL Max) according to aolbroadband.com. However Forest Hill is a 21CN enabled exchange, so ISPs other than O2/Be should be able to offer ADSL2+ (Upto 24Mbps) service.

The attached charts show you what hundreds of Be users actually get:
   
Actual Upload sync speeds
   
Actual Download sync speeds

My upload speeds are low because of the product I am on and are not a reflection of O2/Be's limitations.

HTH