ping did _this_
Ping is not very informative or accurate.
If you run a traceroute, which is also not very accurate,
you can get some idea about where the delay appears to be.
Is it the DSL segment? Is it somewhere else that traceroute can show you?
The nice thing about delays that are this long is that
9000 ms is long enough it won't just be lost in the noise...
It wouldn't be surprising if it's in your DSL,
and if your DSL has changed to a lower speed
(which looks like it might have happened),
then maybe something _is_ wrong with your DSL,
or maybe the slower speed is causing traffic backups that weren't a problem
when you were getting 512 kbps, or you're getting TCP retransmissions,
but maybe the problem is somewhere else in the network.
Get the best of both tools and use mtr (assuming unix-like platform).
There are similar tools for windows (pingplotter?).
This thread reminds me of my own DSL, which rides the ILEC's network and
is handed off to $work at the CO as an ATM PVC. For years, my DSL service
has osciliated from fine (20-30ms ping times) to not good (200-300ms) to
unusable (>=1000ms ping times). It seems to work fine for months, then
get bad to really bad for days or weeks at a time. I've replaced CPE
several times, and even keep 2 totally different brand/model routers at
the house, just in case (so when I call the DSG, I can say "yes, not only
have I power cycled it, I've replaced the router"). I've spent
considerable time on the phone with the ILEC. Most calls, they claim
there's nothing wrong. A few times, they've admitted it's a known problem
with the "lt card", not that that means much to me, and resetting it often
makes things better.