Bandwidth by Jack Loague

Bandwidth is the capacity of data that can travel along a communication channel.

Overview
Bandwidth is a measurement of the amount of some given type of data that can travel across

a channel of communication. There are two general contexts for the term: in signal technologies

and in computing. In signal communications such as radio, bandwidth is analog, and is measured

as the width of a signal wave, and is primarily expressed in hertz, or the number of these waves

per second. However, what generally will come to mind for most when they hear the term

bandwidth is in relation to computing, or when bandwidth is digital. In this context, bandwidth is

measured as the amount of data which can be transmitted across a network (a network being a

system of linked computers that can share information), and is expressed in bytes per second (1).

A byte consists of eight bits, and a bit in computing is a simple unit of information; an

instruction, expressed in a binary form (so either true or false, 1 or 0).

Bandwidth in Computer Network Speed

With the internet now solidified as the most used form of communication, bandwidth is a

word that is often heard when discussing notions like internet speed. And it is certainly true that

more bandwidth has a positive effect on one’s network connection. The higher or greater the

bandwidth means the more data that can be transmitted in an internet connection (2).

A fun way to think about bandwidth is that it is a lot like plumbing (2); the wider the

diameter of a pipe, the more water that can flow through. The same can be applied to a higher

bandwidth providing larger data transmission. At the same time, if someone in a house is
showering, while another person is using the garden

hose, the amount of water flow traveling to each

point will then decrease, as now the water source is

being partitioned. This can also be said for

bandwidth, which is why when multiple people are

using one internet connection all at the same time,

your maximum data transfer, or bandwidth, is now

compromised, and each user will likely experience

slower rates of internet speed (2).

(3) An analogy between water flow and bandwidth.

Latency vs Bandwidth
While it is easy to see the correlation between a higher bandwidth and a more responsive

internet, bandwidth is not the sole factor in achieving a desired connection. It is also lumped

together with other terms related to network connection, the most common being latency. It is

important to distinguish bandwidth from this other term:

Latency refers to the amount of time it takes for a piece of data in a network to make a

round trip between sender and receiver, and is most commonly measured in milliseconds

(3). So while bandwidth represents the sheer volume of data that can be transmitted over

a network, latency is the delay in time it takes for this data to reach a computer. With this

is mind, a lower latency is ideal for a faster network connection, as it means less time.

In fact, there are certain online activities where a lower latency is perhaps more important

than higher bandwidth. Online gaming, a prominent example, relies on latency as likely its most

vital factor (3). This is because one would want their inputs (their actions in the game) to be
acknowledged as quickly as possible. On the other hand, for a task like downloading a large file,

higher bandwidth would be more important (3), as one would want as much room (capacity) as

possible for data to travel through at a time, decreasing the amount of time it takes to download

overall. To sum up, both bandwidth and latency play a role in internet speed, but it is important

to note their differences.

Works Cited

1. Chandler, Daniel and Rod Munday. 2020. A Dictionary of Media and Communication.
Oxford University Press, Incorporated. p. 205.
2. Fisher, Tim and Michael Barton Heine Jr. Dec. 30, 2020. What is Bandwidth? Lifewire.
https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-bandwidth-2625809.
3. Ashjaee, Nusha. Dec. 30, 2020. What is Bandwidth? Lifewire.
https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-bandwidth-2625809.
4. Liu, Yu-Hsin, et al. December 2018. Distinguishing bandwidth and latency in
households’ willingness-to-pay for broadband internet speed. ScienceDirect.
https://www-sciencedirect-com.lib-
proxy.fullerton.edu/science/article/pii/S0167624517301609#bib0022.

Markel’s Strategies Postwrite

I used three of Markel’s definition strategies. I used an analogy by comparing bandwidth to
plumbing in paragraph 3. I also used negation by distinguishing bandwidth from latency in
paragraph 5. And finally, I used examples of bandwidth in the real-world with playing an
important role in downloading files in paragraph 6.