Every discussion about access services (internet or connectivity) is incomplete without a mention of either speed or bandwidth. This two words have been used interchangeably to the point that even most techies are confused about the difference. I’m sure you are familiar with the confusion that usually ensues between ISPs and their customers whenever the latter arrives at different results using speedtest.net to ascertain bandwidth connections from the former. No doubt, everyone loves speed – But the real question is, which is better to have: fast speed or more bandwidth? Although these terms are inter-related, they’re not the same. So then what’s the difference? Let’s dive into it.

The best way to explain (and understand) how bandwidth (and your internet speed) works is by using an analogy.

Let’s visualize the example of filling a bucket with water flowing through a hose of diameter 1.5 inches. If a single bucket can be filled through this hose in 10 minutes, that means we can fill 6 buckets of water in 1 hour, which gives us a rate/speed of 6 buckets in 1 hour (6 buckets/hour). Now, use a different hose with double the width of the initial hose, i.e. 3 Inches, then we will be able to fill 12 buckets in same 1 hour (12 buckets/hour). So our rate is doubled (Note that the water is still flowing at the same speed inside the pipe as it was earlier). What has changed? The hose size (bandwidth) – Good!

This same concept applies in networking: the hose is your link, the width of the hose is your bandwidth, and the water is your data. The rate of data transfer (speed) depends on many factors, among which bandwidth is a major component. Still confused?

Well, take another analogy, think of bandwidth like a freeway. All cars (data) travel at the same speed, so to get more cars to the other side at shorter time, similarly to getting more data from the internet to your computer faster, the freeway needs to be wider (increase the numbers of lanes – Bandwidth).

Well, what’s important to note here, and this is what confuses a lot of people, is that your internet isn’t any faster from 1 Mbps to 5 Mbps as mostly misunderstood, your data is just transferred to you at a faster rate because more data can be sent at the same time. It’s more efficient, making your internet perceptually faster, not technically faster.

Kindly share your own analogy or opinion so we can educate each other.

Author: Samson Eweje