We all are caught on the net now, the internet. Life is immovable without the internet. And even though we are not bothered about the technicalities of the internet, but there are few terms and words that spontaneously take place in our daily vocabulary. Bandwidth and broadband are two words that are important factors of the internet connection.
Bandwidth vs Broadband
The main difference between bandwidth and broadband is that bandwidth is the amount of data that can be transferred in a second, and broadband is measuring the amount of speed at which a person can upload or download data using an internet connection.
Bandwidth is the amount of data transferred through the network in a specific period of time. The maximum rate at which the data can be transferred from one network to another is called bandwidth. Bandwidth is counted with bytes, and as it increases, it becomes kilobyte, megabyte, and gigabyte. 1-kilo byte equals 1,024 bytes.
Broadband is measuring the speed of how quickly users can upload or download data using an internet connection. Broadband works through bandwidth as speed can be increased by increasing the width of the band. Broadband suggests a high-speed internet connection.
Comparison Table Between Bandwidth and Broadband
| Parameters of Comparison | Bandwidth | Broadband |
| Meaning | Bandwidth is the range of the frequency of a band. | Broadband is the access to a high-speed internet connection. |
| Measures | Bandwidth measures the amount of data. | Broadband measures the amount of speed. |
| Function | The transaction of the amount of data depends on bandwidth. | Broadband aims to provide a high-speed internet connection. |
| Internet | The wideness of bandwidth determines the speed of the internet. | Broadband always has a wide bandwidth, providing high-speed internet. |
| Use | Bandwidth is used to depict the rate at which data is downloaded or uploaded. | Broadband will always be used to offer high-speed internet which will assist to download or upload data at a fast pace. |
What is Bandwidth?
Bandwidth is the amount of data that can be transferred from one connection to the other. It is measured with bytes per second. 1024 bytes make 1 kilobyte or KB, 1024 KB make 1 megabyte or MB, and 1024 MB make 1 gigabyte or GB.
The width of bandwidth decides how much data can flow per second. The higher the width, the higher the amount of data that can transfer per second. Bandwidth is important in streaming as low bandwidth will lead to buffering.
The requirement of bandwidth’s width depends on the job or industry. Nowadays speedy internet connection is required in every field. Speed is different from bandwidth, but the size of bandwidth influences the speed of a connection.
A certain width of bandwidth will transfer the same amount of data in every location, which means the width of the bandwidth will always offer the same amount of data transmission per second.
We stay connected to the world with the help of the internet. Everything we do on the internet can be simply narrowed down to downloading and uploading the data.
We communicate through the internet, we find our entertainment on the internet, we gather information on the internet, we work on the internet, we purchase all kinds of things from the internet, and everything is a process of downloading and uploading data. Generally, we refer to data as MB and GB.
What is Broadband?
When we say broadband, the term ‘high-speed internet connection’ comes popping into our minds. Broadband is high-speed data transmission. It has many technologies like fiber optics, wireless, cable, DSL and satellite. It measures the speed of the data transmission. This speed can be increased by increasing the width of the bandwidth.
An internet service provider provides you with the service of high-speed internet at your home. This is a multi-user network in a particular area. But broadband is different from WiFi. The wifi is connected with broadband to access the internet. Broadband performs with the help of cables.
Broadband will make you able to access anything available on the internet rapidly. It offers a wide range of speed per second. Nowadays, most broadband has 100 MB per second speed.
Broadband has replaced dial-up, which was a single line. Broadband is a multiple data line with increased and improved speed. Broadband will always have wide bandwidth as its goal is to offer high-speed internet.
Main Differences Between Bandwidth and Broadband
- Bandwidth is the technology that determines the rate at which the data will upload or download, whereas broadband is wide bandwidth technology providing high-speed Internet.
- Bandwidth deals with the amount of data transmission, and broadband deal with the speed of the data transmission.
- Bandwidth decides the maximum rate of data transmission, and broadband is always connected, the high-speed internet connection that operates on cable.
- The width of bandwidth can be of any size. While broadband will always have a wide bandwidth.
- Bandwidth is the amount of data transferred through the network per second. This amount can be high or low. Low bandwidth leads to slow internet and buffering. But broadband always suggests high-speed internet. The connection can not be poor in broadband as its single purpose is to deliver high-speed Internet.
Conclusion
We do not collect knowledge now. We collect information and data. The Internet has become one of the basic needs. And in this situation, bandwidth and broadband are our weapons, and we need to keep them sharp.
Bandwidth implies the amount of data, and broadband suggests the speed at which we access the data. These are interwoven together as the speed of broadband depends on the width of bandwidth. The width of bandwidth decides the amount of data that can be transmitted per second, and broadband is always a wide bandwidth.
References
- https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/6605516/
- https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/879352/