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In comparison, a webinar typically uses far less bandwidth. Some devices, such as TVs that stream 4K video, are bandwidth hogs. Multiple devices using the same connection must share bandwidth. Other times, bandwidth is intentionally rate-limited by a network administrator or internet or wide area network (WAN) carrier. Sometimes, this is due to physical limitations of the network device, such as the router or modem, cabling or wireless frequencies being used. In any given deployment location, such as a home or business, there is only so much capacity available. Why bandwidth is importantīandwidth is not an unlimited resource. To use the water metaphor again, speed refers to how quickly water can be pushed through a pipe bandwidth refers to the quantity of water that can be moved through the pipe over a set time frame.
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The cause of the confusion may be due, in part, to advertisements by internet service providers (ISPs) that conflate the two by referring to greater speeds when they truly mean bandwidth.Įssentially, speed refers to the rate at which data can be transmitted, while the definition of bandwidth is the capacity for that speed. The terms bandwidth and speed are often used interchangeably but not correctly. Thus, a 1 gigabit per second (Gbps) Dedicated Internet Access (DIA) link will be more expensive than one that can handle 250 megabits per second ( Mbps) of throughput. The cost of a network connection goes up as bandwidth increases. The higher the capacity of the communication link, the more data can flow through it per second. The wider the pipe's diameter, the more water can flow through it at one time. In concept, bandwidth can be compared to the volume of water that can flow through a pipe. The more bandwidth a data connection has, the more data it can send and receive at one time. Bandwidth is not a measure of network speed - a common misconception.
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Synonymous with capacity, bandwidth describes data transfer rate. Typically, bandwidth is represented in the number of bits, kilobits, megabits or gigabits that can be transmitted in 1 second. Network bandwidth is a measurement indicating the maximum capacity of a wired or wireless communications link to transmit data over a network connection in a given amount of time.
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