LEARN / CONCEPT0BPS / MODULE
BANDWIDTH VS SPEED
Bandwidth is capacity. Throughput is the rate actually achieved. “Speed” is often used informally for both.
NETWORK / CAPACITY
BANDWIDTH
Bandwidth describes how much data a link can theoretically carry per unit of time. An advertised 500 Mbps plan describes a nominal capacity, not a promise that every transfer will always reach 500 Mbps.
THROUGHPUT
Throughput is the useful data rate observed in practice. Routing, congestion, protocol overhead, Wi-Fi quality, server limits and device performance can reduce it below the connection's nominal bandwidth.
LATENCY IS DIFFERENT
OPEN BANDWIDTH CALCULATOR→A 1 Gbps connection can still have high latency. Capacity and response time answer different questions.