So, if your internet plan has an advertised bandwidth of up to 20 Mbps, this is the highest volume of information that can be sent over the network to your router.
The speed, then, is how fast that water comes out of the tap when you turn it on. Think of bandwidth as the width of a water pipe, which determines the volume of water that can flow through the pipe at any given moment. There’s a plumbing metaphor that can help us understand these two concepts. Speed is the rate at which information or content reaches your device (tablet, laptop, smartphone, etc.) from the internet.Bandwidth is the maximum volume of data that can be transmitted over an internet connection, measured in Megabits per second (Mbps).You may hear “bandwidth” and “speed” used interchangeably, but they do refer to slightly different aspects of internet service. What’s the difference between speed and bandwidth? To really answer that question, you must understand a bit more about internet speed, WiFi speed, and network connections. You may have run a speed test, or you may have no idea what your internet speed is.Įither way, if you’re like a lot of people, you simply want to know: “Is my connection fast enough?” Chances are good you’ve spent at least a moment or two thinking about your internet speed - especially if you’ve experienced a slow or spotty connection.
