Many people may feel confused about the difference between Internet bandwidth and network speed. It’s easy to muddle their definition. By reading this post on MiniTool Website, you can learn a guide about Internet bandwidth vs speed. Besides, there are some tips to maintain your Internet bandwidth and speed.
Internet Bandwidth vs Network Speed
First of all, what is Internet bandwidth? Many people think of it as the same thing as network speed. But they are two different things and have some microscopic distinctions you need to notice.
Let’s check the difference between Internet bandwidth and network speed!
Internet bandwidth:
Internet bandwidth refers to the maximum amount of data transmitted over an Internet connection in a given amount of time, or, how much information you receive every second. Internet bandwidth is measured as megabits per second (Mbps).
Internet speed:
Internet speed refers to the maximum rate you can transmit data. In other words, how fast that information is received or downloaded. Internet speed is also measured as megabits per second (Mbps).
Latency:
Latency is related to bandwidth and speed. It refers to the delay you experience when waiting for something to load. In other words, it means the amount of time that will be spent to get information from its source to you.
Let’s draw an analogy!
If you are injecting water into an empty pool with a water pipe. The amount of water flowing out is bandwidth while the flowing speed of the water is Internet speed; the time consumed to fill the pool is latency.
Contributing Factors
Regarding Internet speed vs bandwidth, we can start with the contributing factors that may deteriorate their performance.
Internet bandwidth:
There are some situations in which your bandwidth can be wasted.
- Apps running in the background
- Peer-to-peer downloads
- OneDrive transfers
- Sync task running all the time
Internet speed:
There are some potential culprits you can notice:
- Your wireless connection
- Virus issue
- Other devices that may cause interference
- The program you are using is overloaded
How to Maintain Internet Bandwidth and Speed?
Based on the contributing factors, we can deduce their targeted fixes to maintain your Internet bandwidth and speed.
Way 1: Scan for Malware
Some viruses or malware hidden in your PC can make your Internet bandwidth wasted. You can scan your computer at a scheduled time to ensure no virus exists.
Windows Defender is a built-in program to protect your PC. you can also scan viruses with the help of a third-party antivirus.
Way 2: Adjust Cloud Backup Applications
An unregulated cloud backup will consume the most bandwidth. Therefore, if you are backing up data to the cloud, you’d better ensure the backup application has an adjustment mechanism.
Way 3: Stop Accessing the Platform with Multimedia Content
Such media streaming sites will take more bandwidth than other platforms. So if those sites are of no use to you, you can block access to media streaming sites.
Way 4: Use a Proxy Cache
Proxy cache is used to store and deliver frequently accessed websites, images, and objects on the Internet. It can improve website access times, minimize data download, and lower bandwidth usage. So it can be a good tool to maintain your Internet bandwidth and speed.
Bottom Line:
Now, after you have known the full description of Internet bandwidth vs speed, you can find the right Internet plan for your business according to their nuances.