Airport express networking help please

Am I reading correctly that there's single ethernet output from the modem-thing that's hooked to the fiber, which is connected to the NEC router they gave you, which you then have hooked to the AEBS? Further, that a PC hooked directly to the NEC router is getting 6Mb/s? Also to confirm, that is 6 megaBITS per second, not 6 megaBYTES, right?

Assuming I've got that right, then the first question is if you are able to hook any computer directly to the modem and see how that works. That would rule out any of your networking hardware as the source of the problem.

If I misunderstood and the NEC *is* the modem and/or the output of it won't just connect to a computer, then that's not an option.

It could very well just be that you're not getting good speeds--just because they're quoting you a massive 100Mbit fiber pipe or whatever doesn't mean you can actually take advantage of all that if the rest of the neighborhood is busy pirating movies or whatnot. Try doing a speedtest in the middle of the night and see if it's faster--that would indicate it's just your internet connection. You could also call and complain.

(There's also the fact that just because the hardware has a gigabit ethernet link it doesn't necessarily mean that the fiber going to the house is anywhere near that fast--my DSL modem has 100Mbit ethernet on it, but it's only 6Mbit in; I've seen deceptive advertising along those lines in some Japanese DSL flyers.)

As for the particularly slow wireless, that just sounds like a weak signal--how far away are you, and is there stuff nearby (TVs, microwave, etc) that might be interfering with the signal?

On an unrelated note, every time I look at a list of DSL/fiber prices for Japan I get more cheesed off at my 6Mbit AT&T connection here in the US. Of course, I actually get all 6Mbits, though...