Word to the Wise – Bandwidth

Bandwidth

E.g The upload and download limits on your PC

Bandwidth is a bit of a geeky word, but it simply means how much data you can send through your network connection. It’s usually measured in “bits per second” (bps).

The best way to think of bandwidth is as a motorway with cars travelling on it. The motorway is the network connection (say, a motorway between your PC and the Internet) and the cars are the data. The wider the motorway, the more cars can travel on it at one time. So more cars can get to the destination faster. The same applies to computer data; the more bandwidth, the more information can be transferred within a given amount of time.

Say you are watching a video online. The video will travel onto your computer as millions of tiny “data cars” on the motorway. The faster your Internet connection and the higher your bandwidth limit, the quicker the data cars can reach your PC. And the quicker they reach the PC, the better quality the video will be!

I hope that made some kinda of sense!

Georgia