The key difference between bandwidth and frequency is that the bandwidth is the capacity of a communication link to transmit a maximum amount of data per second while the frequency is the number of oscillations of a signal per second.
Bandwidth and frequency are two common terms in Networking and Telecommunication. This article discusses these two important terms.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Bandwidth
3. What is Frequency
4. Relationship Between Bandwidth and Frequency
5. Side by Side Comparison – Bandwidth vs Frequency in Tabular Form
6. Summary
What is Bandwidth?
Bandwidth is the maximum amount of data that can send through the communication path within a second. In other words, it is the capacity available to use in data transmission within a second.
Figure 01: Bandwidth
Another method to explain bandwidth is by taking the subtraction between the highest frequency and the lower frequency of the signal. If the highest frequency is fmax and lowest frequency is fmin, then the equation to calculate bandwidth is as follows.
The measurement to calculate bandwidth is in bits per second. Bit is the fundamental element in computing and digital communication. It can either be zero or one. Usually, when the transmission medium or the channel has a high bandwidth, it is possible to send more data.
What is Frequency?
In Networking or Telecommunication, data passes from the source to destination in the form of a signal. A signal has a frequency. It is an important property to describe a signal. Period is the time for one cycle or an oscillation. Usually, the measurement of period is in seconds. Period helps to compute frequency.
Figure 02: A Signal
Frequency is the number of cycles or oscillations in a signal per second.
Frequency measurement is Hertz (Hz). When T represents period and f represents frequency, the equation to calculate frequency is as follows.
What is the Relationship Between Bandwidth and Frequency?
- Frequency helps to calculate bandwidth.
What is the Difference Between Bandwidth and Frequency?
Bandwidth vs Frequency |
|
| Bandwidth is the capacity of a wired or wireless communication link to transmit the maximum amount of data per second. | Frequency is the number of oscillations of a signal per second. |
| Unit of Measurement | |
| Bits/second | Hz |
Summary – Bandwidth vs Frequency
Bandwidth and frequency are common terms in the fields such as Telecommunication, networking. The difference between bandwidth and frequency is that bandwidth is the capacity of a communication link to transmit a maximum amount of data per second while frequency is the number of oscillations of a signal per second.
Reference:
1.Thakur, Dinesh. Computer Notes. Available here
2.SearchNetworking. Available here
Image Courtesy:
1.’Bandwidth’ (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2.’Vale sinusoidale’ By Genttrit – Own work, (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia