You observed:

1. The simple answer is yes, any router should work.
2. It's not the router that is the bottle neck. Your speed is controlled by the Verizon DSL modem that the router is connected to.

That was my point precisely--that it may well be the router that is the bottleneck. (It would help me if you could say a few words about the difference between a router and a modem. Of course, I know what a modem is; but the only thing I have between my computer and my phone line is a router.

(And, at that, this is a router that Westell custom-produced for Verizon; that's what makes me suspicious.)