Anyone figured out the PS3 chat time delay problem?

I don't know if it is just myself and my friend who seem to be stuck in some time vortex, but whenever we use the PS3 chat we can't help but notice the time delayfrom when you speak to when your friend hears it.
Now, he only lives about a mile and a half away, it's not like I'm in the UK and he is in the US, so why hasn't this problem been solved? As a pro-PS3 user, I am ashamed to say that the Xbox 360 chat (which also has the benefit of a headset included with the hardware) is by far and away more impressive and has no time lag.
Come on Sony, get this problem figured out - and how about making it easier to have a chat with a buddy, and be able to then join a game without having to quit chat first? These are the basics. Anyone else got a view on this? Post me!