Are you using ftp, or sftp? You should be using sftp, which isn’t often filtered like plain old ftp. The reason for ftp being filtered is that it sends a cleartext password over the wire, which can be intercepted. Not a good thing. sftp on the other hand uses ssh and encrypted transport for authentication.

If I were you, I would get something like a dreamhost (dreamhost.com) account, which gives you ample space (like 500GB) and shell access for a very low cost ($5.95/month) and low hassle factor. I’m not a big fan of centralized IT and like a real craftsman, keep my tools under my control. In my current position, I made it about a week with a centralized IT workstation before ditching it and bringing in my own self-adminstered box. That was over 5 years ago.