WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE AND WHY DOES IT MATTER?
Understanding the nuances of internet speed and bandwidth can help with analyzing current and projected business needs and ensuring the right choices are made when seeking and engaging an internet service provider for an internet plan.
Service providers frequently and even purposefully confuse consumers with their advertisements for internet packages and plans. Because of bandwidth sharing, a homeowner hardly ever receives the stated speeds and performance, especially for consumer packages. Understanding the subtleties of bandwidth and speed might help a consumer avoid being taken advantage of by an ISP.
The terms speed and bandwidth are interrelated and are often used interchangeably, even though they mean slightly different things.
Speed is the rate at which a certain amount of data can be downloaded or uploaded per second, measured in megabits per second, or Mbps.
Bandwidth is the total amount of data that can be downloaded or uploaded per second, i.e., the capacity. This typically depends on the internet plan and connection type. Like speed, it’s also measured in Mbps or Gbps.
For small businesses, shared home internet connections are typically the standard deployment. With a shared connection, the speeds fluctuate as other businesses and homes share the same bandwidth. For larger businesses with more bandwidth-intensive connections, a dedicated Internet access line is probably the best way to go.
Analogies to explain Speed vs. Bandwidth
Analogy 1
Picture a water pipe and tap as the connection and a bucket as the device ready to download a file. If water is trickling through the tap, representing a slow connection, it will take a long time to fill up the bucket, regardless of the size of the pipe. If the connection is 5 Mbps, that’s all a user or device will get.
When the taps are fully open to allow maximum flow of water, representing a fast connection, the bucket fills up much faster. Like an internet connection, several factors can impede the flow and speed of water, like faulty pipes or clogged lines.
Analogy 2
Bandwidth can be thought of as the highway, and cars can be thought of as data. More cars means more traffic, and the size of the highway will determine the maximum volume of cars that can pass through over a certain period of time.
A small or narrow highway throttles traffic and thus affects the speed at which the vehicles can move, while a wider highway can allow more vehicles to move faster.
For instance, with a 1 Mbps bandwidth equivalent to 1 lane on the highway, a 5 MB file will take 5 seconds to download. With a 5-lane highway equivalent to a 5-Mbps bandwidth, the 5-MB file will take a second to download, i.e., 5 cars can move parallel on each lane instead of one behind the other because the highway allows for 5 cars at a time.
Similarly, a 3 Gbps bandwidth connection can deliver faster speeds than a 1.5 Gbps bandwidth connection.
Though confusing, this does not technically mean that the internet is faster; it means that more data can be sent at the same time because of the wider channel.
So bandwidth refers to the maximum possible speed and not the actual speed.
Faster speeds and higher bandwidths mean the network can support multiple users, applications, and devices while maintaining consistent performance levels.
Measuring bandwidth and Speed
When signing up for an internet plan, the ISP typically provides the maximum speed that the plan can achieve when everything is functioning optimally, which is the bandwidth.
Speeds can be measured using a variety of speed test applications. Unlike bandwidth, speeds can be inconsistent and may vary due to a range of factors, such as the number of users on the Wi-Fi network, the connection type, the router or access point, and the distance between a Wi-Fi router and a device.
To get an accurate reading, speed tests ought to be run multiple times with multiple services like Ookla, Fast.com, or Speed.io, among others, to account for variability, and while at it, it’s advisable to use a wired connection for better accuracy.
There are three types of internet speed testing: upload speed, download speed, and latency.
Latency, bandwidth and speed
The numbers given by an ISP, e.g., 10 Mbps, have nothing to do with how fast the internet will work; what really determines internet speed is latency. Latency is a measure of how long it takes data packets to travel between two points, or source and destination. So a high-bandwidth network can still be slow when there is high latency in the network.
One factor that creates latency is distance. Cables don’t always follow the most direct route from one point to another due to obstacles. So a distance of 300 meters measured in a straight line might require a cable length of 700 meters as it has to go around, under, or over obstacles to get to a termination point. As the distance grows, the latency increases.
Other factors that introduce latency include the number of hops a packet goes through, like routers, bridges, and gateway devices, and network congestion.
Bandwidth does not depend on upload speeds, download speeds, or latency, and it can always be higher than speed, but speed can depend on the three factors and can never be higher than bandwidth.
Calculating bandwidth requirements
Businesses that require high bandwidth use more data-hungry applications like video conferencing and large file uploads and downloads, while businesses with lower bandwidth typically use their connection for emails and general internet browsing.
Assuming each user in a high-bandwidth business has at least two devices at their disposal, each requiring 10 Mbps, 15 employees would require at least 300 Mbps of available bandwidth. For optimum operation, the business would therefore need around 500 Mbps of bandwidth to factor in other applications like security systems, etc., and the potential increase in users and devices.
For a small bandwidth business with 15 employees and two devices each requiring a bandwidth of 4 Mbps for optimum performance, 120 Mbps of bandwidth would be required for the users and their devices. To accommodate other network applications and future expansion, the business would require 200 Mbps of bandwidth.
Bandwidth monitoring
Bandwidth monitoring applications capture real-time data across the network and can determine where and when network strain occurs and attribute bandwidth consumption to specific applications. This can help inform business decisions such as whether to add more bandwidth or do away with some applications.
Throughput
Network throughput is determined by combining speed and bandwidth. It’s the actual amount of data that is successfully transmitted over the network in a given period of time and is also measured in bits per second. Several factors can affect network throughput, including:
The Internet Service Plan a user subscribed to
Distance between two communicating applications can introduce latency, which in turn impacts throughput.
Bandwidth, which is typically determined by the subscription plan
Quality of network hardware and applications like cables, routers, switches, and access points.
Network congestion, particularly during peak times, typically impacts throughput.
Network traffic management by ISPs or network administrators might prioritize or throttle certain types of network traffic.
Throughput may be measured in order to understand actual network performance and identify whether bottlenecks exist that might adversely affect network performance.
With an understanding of the subtleties of internet bandwidth and speed, an informed decision can be made regarding a business’ needs when choosing an internet plan for current and projected applications.
Slim Bz Techsystems : Nairobi, Kenya
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