What is Bandwidth

Have you ever thought about why your internet gets slow during a video call or takes a lot of time to load a page? The answer lies in Bandwidth, but what exactly is bandwidth? How does it affect your streaming, gaming, or downloads? What’s limiting your network speed? In this guide, we will learn about bandwidth in simple terms, explore how it works, and show you how to measure, manage, and increase it.

Table of Contents:

• What is Bandwidth?
  • Bandwidth vs Speed vs Latency vs Throughput
• Importance of Bandwidth
• Working of Bandwidth
• Types of Bandwidth
• How to Calculate Bandwidth?
• Uses of Bandwidth
• Factors Affecting Bandwidth Performance
• How to Increase Bandwidth
• Conclusion

What Is Bandwidth?

Bandwidth refers to the maximum data transfer capacity over a network in a given time. It is measured in bits per second (bps), megabits per second (Mbps), or gigabits per second (Gbps). It is also referred to as the data transfer capacity of the network. It determines how much data can be transferred over a network in a given time period, not how fast the data travels.

For example, you can think of bandwidth like a highway, as the wider the highway (higher bandwidth), the more vehicles (data packets) can travel at the same time. It doesn’t mean the vehicles are moving faster; it means how many more vehicles can travel.

Some people get confused between networking terms like speed, latency, and throughput. But bandwidth is different from all these. Let us understand how it is different from the common networking terms.

Bandwidth vs Speed vs Latency vs Throughput

Importance of Bandwidth

Bandwidth plays an important role in the speed and quality of the internet. It impacts everything from browsing and streaming to online gaming and video conferencing. Bandwidth applies to both periodic and non-periodic signals, where it refers to the range of frequencies used to transmit data.

The diagram compares two types of signals, a periodic signal (top part) and a non-periodic signal (bottom part).

1. Periodic Signal

The top part of the figure shows a periodic signal, which means that the signal repeats over time like a sine wave. The frequency spectrum shows the sharp spikes at specific frequencies, which are called harmonics. These spikes appear at the main frequency of the signal and at regular intervals, like its integer multiples (2×, 3×, 4×…). The bandwidth from here is 1000 Hz to 5000 Hz. This means that only the specific frequencies in this range are needed to produce the accurate signal without distortion.

2. Non-Periodic Signal

The bottom part of the figure shows a non-periodic signal, which means a signal whose pattern will not repeat in a regular pattern, such as speech, music, or digital data. While periodic signals have distinct frequency spikes, a non-periodic signal has a continuous frequency spectrum, i.e., all the frequencies from 1000 Hz to 5000 Hz are being used, forming a triangular shape, not individual spikes. This means the signal’s energy is spread continuously across that 4000 Hz bandwidth range.

Working of Bandwidth

When you browse any website, watch a video, or download a file, the data is broken into packets and sent to the user through the internet connection. Bandwidth controls how many of these packets can be delivered per second.

Below are two major factors that determine how bandwidth works:

• Data Transfer: When you perform any online activity, your device sends and receives data packets.
• Bandwidth Capacity: Your available bandwidth determines how many packets can be transferred at the same time.

For example, imagine the water is flowing through a pipe. A thick pipe will let more water flow at once, and a thin pipe allows less water to flow than the thick one. Similarly, high bandwidth devices can stream, download, and browse smoothly at one time, whereas using a low bandwidth limits how many users can perform online tasks at the same time.

Types of Bandwidth

An internet connection can be symmetrical or asymmetrical.

1. A symmetrical connection means that the transfer capacity of the data is the same in both directions, i.e, the upload and the download speed are equal. This type of connection is useful in gigabit-grade fiber connections and is good for tasks like video conferencing, live streaming, cloud backups, and remote work, where large amounts of data need to be both sent and received.

2. An asymmetrical connection provides different speeds for uploading and downloading, mainly with faster download speeds. Asymmetrical connections work well for typical consumer use, but they may cause delays or slow performance in activities like video conferencing or cloud backup services that require heavy uploads. It is good for tasks like browsing, streaming videos, and downloading files.

How to Calculate Bandwidth?

The bandwidth is calculated mainly in 2 units, i.e.,

• Digital or Data Bandwidth: It measures the amount of data transferred every second, like the Internet speed is measured in Mbps (Megabits per second)
• Signal/Frequency Bandwidth: It measures the range of frequencies used in a signal, like Wi-Fi channel bandwidth.

Bandwidth can be calculated by using theoretical formulas and online real-time tools in real life.

Basic Formula for Measuring Bandwidth

To calculate bandwidth manually, you can use the following formula:

Bandwidth (bps) = Total Data Transferred (in bits)​ / Time Taken (in seconds)

Here is the list of all the conversion units that can be used in calculating bandwidth.

• 1 Byte = 8 bits
• 1 KB = 1024 Bytes
• 1 MB = 1024 KB
• 1 GB = 1024 MB

For example, if 500 MB of data is transferred in 200 seconds, then

• First, convert the data into bits, i.e., 500×1024×1024×8=4,194,304,000 bits
• Now, calculate the bandwidth,
  Bandwidth = 4,194,304,000 / 200 = 20,971,520 bps or approximately 21 Mbps

Tools for Measuring Bandwidth

There are many tools used to measure bandwidth. Some of them are discussed below

1. Online tools for end users

• Go to a speed test website, e.g., speedtest.net, or fast.com.
• Click on Go or Start Test.
• Wait for results, such as:
  • Download Speed
  • Upload Speed
  • Latency or Ping

2. Using Windows Task Manager

Without using any external tools, you can measure the bandwidth speed in Windows by following the steps below

• Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open the Task Manager.
• Go to the Performance tab, then click on Wi-Fi or Ethernet.
• View sending and receiving speeds

Uses of Bandwidth

Now, let us discuss some of the uses of the bandwidth:

1. Internet and Network Communication

Every time you browse a website or watch a video, the data is transferred over the internet. The speed and efficiency of this communication heavily depend on your available bandwidth. Higher bandwidth allows faster transfer of data, which means websites will open quickly, downloads will finish sooner, and apps will respond better because more bandwidth can enable faster speeds, especially during high usage.

2. Video Streaming Platforms

When you stream a video or watch it directly over the internet without downloading the full file, it sends the data in small chunks to your device in real time. For the video quality 720p-1080p, the bandwidth needed is approximately 3-5 Mbps. The bandwidth plays a big role when you need a steady and fast flow of data because, for streaming higher video quality, more data is needed.

3. Cloud Services

Cloud services refer to online platforms that store and manage your data, such as documents, photos, videos, and backups, on remote servers that can be accessed via the internet, like Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, and iCloud. Uploading or downloading data from the cloud consumes internet bandwidth, i.e., the larger the file, the more bandwidth is required to transfer it quickly and smoothly. For example, a small Word document may be uploaded in seconds, and a large file like a movie can take hours.

4. Wi-Fi and Mobile Networks

The smartphone and Wi-Fi router use radio signals to connect to the internet. A Wi-Fi router acts as a central hub, which transmits data over short distances within a home or office. and a mobile network tower covers a much wider area, delivering internet with the help of cellular signals, e.g., 4G, 5G. In both these cases, bandwidth is divided among all the active users that are connected to the same access point or cell tower. Bandwidth is important in this case as Wi-Fi and mobile networks have limited bandwidth that is shared across all the users that are connected to it at that particular time; hence, more bandwidth means faster mobile internet.

5. IoT and Smart Devices

IoT (Internet of Things) devices like smart lights, cameras, and sensors are connected to the internet, and each device sends and receives data to many devices at the same time. Hence, more smart devices are equal to more bandwidth.

Factors Affecting Bandwidth Performance

Many factors affect the performance of the bandwidth. Some of the areas are as follows:

1. Network Congestion

Every network has its maximum capacity of data transfer, called bandwidth. When the demand increases beyond this capacity, the network cannot process all the requests efficiently, hence, this results in slower speeds, buffering in videos, or lag in games.

2. Number of Connected Devices

Each device you use that is connected to the internet uses a portion of your bandwidth. When many devices are connected and active at the same time. The total bandwidth gets divided among all the users using it.

3. Type of Internet Connection

The type of internet connection you use plays an important role in determining your bandwidth, internet speed, and overall network stability. Each type of connection, whether it is a fiber optic, cable, DSL, or satellite, delivers data differently, using different infrastructure and transmission mediums. These differences impact how fast the data can travel, how much data can be transferred at once, and how reliably the connection performs under different conditions. For example, fiber optic offers the highest and most stable bandwidth. Cable and satellite have varying limitations in speed and latency because speed and quality depend on your ISP and connection type.

4. Router and Hardware Quality

Old or low-quality routers may not be able to handle high-speed internet plans because of the advancements in techniques. Similarly, old network cards can limit network performance.

5. ISP Throttling

ISP throttling, also known as bandwidth throttling, occurs when your Internet Service Provider (ISP) slows down your internet speed, reducing your available bandwidth. This is usually done based on usage patterns or network conditions. Some Internet Service Providers (ISPs) may slow down your connection after you use a certain amount of data in a month or during high-traffic times. For example, some users experience slower speeds after exceeding 100 GB in a month.

How to Increase Bandwidth

There are many ways in which you can increase your bandwidth; some of them are discussed below

1. Internet Plan

Before trying any other method, you have to check if your current internet plan is sufficient. If your plan is not as per your network requirements, you can upgrade your plan to a higher speed, which will help you get more data per second. Further, higher-tier plans often have higher data caps or no throttling, and more bandwidth allows multiple users to work and stream smoothly, even during peak hours.

2. Router or Modem

Your internet plan is only as good as the hardware delivering it, because outdated or low-quality routers can make your internet speed slow, even if you are subscribed to a high-speed plan. For this, you can check if your router is compatible with your current internet speed or not, e.g., many older routers have a limit of 100 Mbps. To solve this, you can use a dual-band or tri-band router that offers both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz (faster) frequencies, or use Wi-Fi 6 routers if you have many devices or a gigabit connection.

3. Wired (Ethernet)

You can simply use a wired connection (Ethernet cable) if you want higher and more stable bandwidth. Higher bandwidth means faster speeds, smoother video streaming, quicker downloads, and better performance in online gaming or video calls. Upgrading network hardware like routers and switches will help increase the bandwidth. In short, more bandwidth = faster, more reliable wired internet.

Conclusion

Bandwidth is all about how much data your internet can handle at one time. More bandwidth means faster browsing, smoother video calls, and better streaming. It does not mean the data moves faster, but that more data can move at once. Upgrading your internet plan, using better cables, or switching to wired connections can help improve it. In short, higher bandwidth is equal to a better internet experience for all your online needs.

FAQs on Bandwidth