why is bandwidth important to internet users

Ultimately, which one you choose depends on your applications, goals, budget, uptime requirements and the size of your organization. In short, dedicated internet provides guaranteed performance and reliability with a higher cost, while broadband offers lower cost with potential areas of congestion and performance issues. A dedicated internet connection dedicates a specific amount of bandwidth that is not shared with anyone else other than the users of that physical circuit. This ensures your internet connection performs at a consistent service level regardless of the time of day or number of users online in the area. In addition to dedicated bandwidth, performance metrics including network latency, packet loss, uptime, jitter and repair timeframes are guaranteed with service level agreements. A broadband internet connection is a shared network, with many different users in an area sharing a common larger connection. The amount of bandwidth offered is only up to the maximum bandwidth or package speed available, with no guarantees on what speed you actually get or the quality of the connection. Speed is determined by network traffic and congestion, which can vary greatly depending on the location or time of day.

Bandwidth is often mistaken for internet speed when it's actually the volume of information that can be sent over a connection in a measured amount of time—calculated as volume per second (e.g., Megabits per second or Mbps). Bandwidth vs speed Bandwidth is how much information you receive every second, while speed is how fast that information is received or downloaded. Let's compare it to filling a bathtub. If the bathtub faucet has a wide opening, more water can flow at a faster rate than if the pipe was narrower. Think of the water as the bandwidth and the rate at which the water flows as the speed. Bandwidth vs latency Latency is sometimes referred to as delay or ping rate. It's the lag you experience while waiting for something to load. If bandwidth is the amount of information sent per second, latency is the amount of time it takes that information to get from its source to you. Bandwidth vs throughput Throughput is how much information actually gets delivered in a certain amount of time. So if bandwidth is the max amount of data, throughput is how much of that data makes it to its destination—taking latency, network speed, packet loss and other factors into account.

Any business that needs help protecting against ransomware, malware, phishing attacks, and safeguarding against connecting to malicious websites, will benefit from these solutions.