Bandwidth and Latency are two terms which are constantly used online and are related to internet connectivity. Both of these terms can affect your internet speed.
If you have low bandwidth or high latency, then the result might be that your internet connection will be slower.
Bandwidth
Most internet service providers will refer to Bandwidth as Internet Speed, but it can be a little misleading.
When you have high bandwidth then it will not always mean that internet connection will feel fast to you.
Bandwidth is generally measured in terms of Mbps or megabits per second.
Internet Connections have two bandwidth numbers:
Download Speed and Upload Speed.
But you will find that most of the ISPs will talk only about download speed and most people only care that. Upload speed only matters when you are uploading and sending files.
Latency
Latency is the delay between when you request something(click on something) and when you get it(see it). When you request something online from a server, then it takes time for your request to be completed and the time in-between that is considered as latency,
It is measured in milliseconds or ms.
Ping and Latency are synonyms of each and used interchangeably,
Most people will notice about 100-150ms od delays between their requests.
Difference between Bandwidth and Latency
If you have good bandwidth and bad latency(high) then it would mean that Web Pages would take a long time to load up, but once the initial connection is made, other pages will load up quickly.
If you have bad bandwidth and good latency(low) then it would mean that Web Pages would load up instantly, but the actual content of the page will load up slowly.
Good Bandwidth means Higher Bandwidth, Higher Mbps.
Good Latency means Lower Latency, Lower response time.
Where do Bandwidth and Latency matter?
Online Gaming
Gaming doesn’t need really fast internet, but it is more related to latency. For online gaming, latency is the key. If you have low latency rates, your gaming experience will likely be smooth.
Online Streaming
For online streaming, high bandwidth is what that matters the most. High latency can cause problems, but if you have high bandwidth, it likely won’t be an issue.
Video Chatting
A stable video chat requires good latency and bandwidth. It requires both low latency rate and high bandwidth. However, it can still work with high latency and low bandwidth, but it will be the blurry sort of video chat.
Browsing
Browsing works best with good latency rates and good bandwidth. Both of these are required for a fast and smooth browsing experience.