What is bandwidth?
Bandwidth refers to the maximum amount of information that can be transferred over a connection at any given time. It is typically measured in hertz, bits per second, or bytes per second, depending on the application.
If you wish to learn more about this topic, check out the FAQ section below:
Question #1: Does bandwidth only apply to internet connections?
No. Bandwidth does not only apply to internet connections. The term is also used in signal processing, multimedia, wireless communication, and other similar fields that deal with data transfer. Regardless of the field, however, the concept stays the same: bandwidth refers to the maximum amount of information you can transfer via a given path at any given time. The only difference is the type of information and unit used to measure it.
For instance, in terms of internet connections, bandwidth is typically measured in terms of bits per second, while in the field of signal processing, it is measured in hertz.
Question #2: What is the difference between bandwidth and internet speed?
The main difference between bandwidth and internet speed is what they measure. As we have seen earlier, bandwidth is concerned with the maximum amount of data that can be transferred via a connection at any given time. Internet speed, on the other hand, refers to the speed at which this data is transferred.
Think of bandwidth as a highway, the vehicles passing through it as data, and the speed at which these vehicles are driving as your internet speed. The wider the highway, the more vehicles can pass through it at any given time (bandwidth). The faster these vehicles go, the faster they reach their destination (internet speed).
The most ideal setup is to have a high bandwidth and internet speed at the same time. This would allow for the highest transfer rate of more data across a connection.
If you only had one but not the other, you may still get low transfer speeds. Let us take a look at the highway example again:
Say you had 1,000 vehicles that needed to cross a narrow highway that only allows 10 vehicles to pass through at a time (bandwidth). Even if each vehicle drove at 200 km/h (internet speed), it would still take a really long time for all 1,000 vehicles to get across because they could only go 10 at a time.
On the other hand, even if the highway were wide enough to allow 100 vehicles to pass through at a time (bandwidth), if each vehicle can only do a maximum of 5 km/h, then you would still have to wait a while for all 1,000 vehicles to get across because they are just not moving fast enough.
Question #3: What is the difference between bandwidth and throughput?
The main difference between bandwidth and throughput is what they measure. The former measures how much data, in theory, could be transferred over a connection. The latter measures how much data is actually transferred over that connection.
This means that even if you had a bandwidth of 200 Mbps, that does not necessarily mean that you 200 Mbps of data will go through. It could be 10, 20, 120, or any other number between 0 and 200—and this number is your throughput.
The confusion stems from the fact that both bandwidth and throughput measure the exact same thing (i.e., the amount of data transferred) but in different contexts.
Question #4: Is bandwidth more important than speed?
Bandwidth is not necessarily more important than speed—but the reverse is also true. It all depends on what you need.
For example, if you are looking to back up massive amounts of data, then you would need a higher bandwidth more than faster speeds. After all, you will most likely just leave the process running in the background while you do something else.
For something like video chatting, on the other hand, speed becomes more important. Just imagine how annoying it would be to have to always wait a couple of seconds after every sentence before the person you are talking to hears what you are saying.