Bandwidth : The Concept of Bandwidth

Bandwidth : This article is being written about bandwidth, in which complete information about bandwidth will be given. Bandwidth determines how much data/information can be transmitted through a waveguide at one time. An analogy would be the speed of a fluid flowing through a pipe and, in fact, optical fibers are often called “light pipes.” One of the reasons why optical transmission is more desirable than electrical transmission is that optical transmission provides a much wider bandwidth. This difference is due to the fact that the properties of light and electricity are different.

The effect of dispersion limited the bandwidth of a transmission medium. This means that the input signal is spread or distorted as it passes through the medium and has a wider or different shape at the receiver. The greater the dispersion in the signal, the shorter the time between unique data bits. If they get very closed to each other, they can overlap, causing errors in the signal.

What is Bandwidth?

Bandwidth means that the maximum data transfer rate can be on a network or Internet connection. Bandwidth is used to describe network speed, not measure how fast bits of data are transferred from one location to another. Since data packets travel over fiber optic cable, the data packet speed of each transferred bit is negligible. Bandwidth measures how much data can flow through a specific connection at a time.

Bandwidth measures that how much amount of data can be sent in a specific connection, that too within a particular time. Let's take an example for you to understand, a Gigabit Ethernet connection has a bandwidth of 1,000 Mbps (125 megabytes per second). At the same time, the bandwidth of such an Internet connection via cable modem is about 25 Mbps. Where bandwidth is used to describe network speeds, bandwidth does not measure how fast bits of data move from one location to another.

Bandwidth is also referred to a range of frequencies which is used to transmit a signal. This type of bandwidth is measured in hertz (Hz) and is mostly referenced in signal processing applications.

The term bandwidth has several technical meanings, but since the popularity of the Internet, it has generally been referred to as the volume of information per unit that the transmission medium can handle.

Bandwidth describes the rate of data transfer from a website or Internet service to your computer at a specific time. So the amount of bandwidth you have determines the efficiency and speed of your internet – that is, when you open web pages, download files and so on. A large bandwidth Internet connection can transfer much more data (a video file) faster than a low bandwidth Internet connection.

You can also READ : # Concept of Optical Amplifiers and Regeneration

What is Bandwidth in the Internet?

Here we can say that bandwidth is a measure of how much information a network can transfer. The amount of data that can be transported varies, affecting how effectively a transmission medium, such as an Internet connection, operates.

You can also READ : # What is the best fiber for FTTH?

How is Bandwidth measured?

Bandwidth is measured in bits per second. It is very important to know here that there are big difference between megabits and megabytes – the physical connection to your network hardware (i.e. switch, server or router) must always be measured in mega “bits”, but traffic in megabits or megabytes per can be measured in the second.

Bandwidth is measured as the amount of data that is transferred from one point to another network in a specific time. Typically, bandwidth is expressed as bitrate and is measured in bits per second (bps).

A high bandwidth allows users to upload and download large amounts of data. It is done by the high transfer rate of speed. A higher bandwidth results in faster transfer speeds resulting in less frustration and greater customer satisfaction.

We all know that megabytes are larger than megabits, most telecom industry service providers want to transfer based on this – although most bandwidth service providers use megabits.

I want to tell here that it is very easy to translate bits into bytes – there are 8 bits in a byte.

In addition to describing the capacity of a communication channel, the term bandwidth is often and somewhat misleadingly applied to information transportation requirements. For example, it can be specified that a channel with a bandwidth of 6 MHZ is required to transmit a television signal without loss or distortion. The physical properties of the medium and energy limited the Bandwidth. Every physical transmission medium has a limited bandwidth.

You may READ HERE : # Details of PON Technologies : Complete guide

How much bandwidth do you need?

How much bandwidth you need depends on what you plan to do with your internet connection. In general, if you don't do anything other than watch Facebook and the occasional video, a less low-and high-speed plan is probably fine. If you have a TV that's streaming Netflix, and a few computers and devices that also need internet access, you'll need high-capacity broadband.

Many internet users think that their connection should be fast enough to handle their daily activities on the web. For this, below are some examples of speed required for different tasks-

# Online gaming – between 15 - 20 Mbps

# Standard Video Streaming – Between 2 - 3 Mbps

# High definition video streaming of 720p – between 3 - 5 Mbps

# 1080p high definition video streaming – between 4 - 8 Mbps

# 4k Ultra High Definition Video Streaming – Between 11 - 15 Mbps

# Streaming Music – Between 1 - 2 Mbps

You can READ ALSO : # Parameters Of Optical Fiber

# Fundamentals of Optical Fibers and Communication

What is a good bandwidth?

The FCC recommends speeds of less than 25 Mbps for many online activities, including streaming SD and HD video, online gaming, and downloading music. Although these are the recommended minimum speeds, other factors, such as connecting multiple devices at once, can slow down your Internet speed.

4-6 mbps: Will provide a good web surfing experience. Often a 720p is fast enough to stream high-definition video, and at this speed it is possible to download some videos in about 20 minutes. But 4 mbps can still be slow. 6-10 Mbps: Will generally provide an excellent web surfing experience.

You can READ HERE : # Why needed cladding in optical fiber?

What are the types of bandwidth?

So far we have known what is bandwidth? How do you measure bandwidth? How much bandwidth is required if we work on the internet? And what is a good bandwidth? But till now we do not know how many types of bandwidth are there.

The types of bandwidth are - Public Wireless, Public Broadband, Private Network and Hybrid Software-Defined Wide Area Networks (SD-WAN).

You may READ HERE : # Dispersion Compensation Module (DCM)

What is a good bandwidth for streaming?

5 Mbps – Recommended Internet Speed. If you need a minimum download speed of 3 mbps to watch a single video stream in clear, standard definition. The best internet speed for HD streaming is 5 Mbps, and if you go up to 4K streaming or Ultra HD, your bandwidth should start at 25 Mbps.

READ HERE : # Ethernet Network Structures

What is the difference between bandwidth and internet speed?

The difference between bandwidth and speed can be define in very simple way. Your Internet bandwidth determines how much data can be downloaded or uploaded from your device, and your Internet speed determines how fast data can be uploaded or downloaded to your device.

You can READ : # Basic Features of Optical Fiber

What is Bandwidth Limit?

A bandwidth limit is a term used to denote that you have exceeded the bandwidth that was available to you by your web hosting plan.

What is a good bandwidth for Zoom?

The bandwidth used by Zoom or any other calling Apps will be optimized for the best experience based on the participant's network. It will automatically adjust for 4G, WiFi, or wired environments.

Recommended bandwidth for meetings and webinar panelists:

For 1:1 video calling:

For high quality video: 600kbps (up/down)

For 720p HD video: 1.2 Mbps (up/down)

For 1080p HD video: 3.8Mbps/3.0Mbps (up/down)

For group video calling:

For high quality video: 1.0 Mbps/600Kbps (up/down)

For 720p HD video: 2.6Mbps/1.8Mbps (up/down)

For 1080p HD video: 3.8Mbps/3.0Mbps (up/down)

To get gallery view: 2.0 Mbps (25 views), 4.0 Mbps (49 views).

You can READ : # Types of Optical Amplifiers

Dispersion effect the Bandwidth

As I have already written that the bandwidth of a transmission medium is limited by an effect called dispersion. Input signal is spread out when passes through the medium and reached in different shape at the receiver. Although dispersion is a different topic, but here I will tell some important points about dispersion.

There are three types of dispersion in optical fiber medium - chromatic, modal, and material. All these three types of dispersion affect and limited the bandwidth.

Chromatic dispersion responsible for the spectral width of the emitter. The number of different wavelengths determines the spectral width which are emitted from the LED or laser. The smaller the spectral width, less number of wavelengths that are emitted. Because we already know that longer wavelengths travel faster than shorter wavelengths these longer wavelengths will reach at the end of the fiber ahead of the shorter ones, spreading out the signal. One way to reduce chromatic dispersion is to reduce the spectral width of the transmitter.

Modal dispersion is related to the path (mode) of each ray of light. Some of these light rays passes through the center of the fiber (axial mode) and some  repeatedly bounce off the cladding/ core boundary to zigzag their way along the waveguide, One way to reduce modal dispersion is to use graded-index fibers.

You can READ : # What is Fiber Channel ?

Last Word

Dear friends, I have tried my best to provide complete information related to bandwidth. How did you all like this article and tell me by commenting. If there is any lack of information regarding bandwidth then you can also send me suggestions. If you liked the information then share it with others.