What is Bandwidth?

Bandwidth is related to the maximum speed of information transfer across a channel. It is the property of the channel.

Consider a simple example to understand the concept of bandwidth. A string is taut between a receiver and a source. The source sends information as a train of 1’s and 0’s (called bits, a short form of binary digits) on the string as follows:

1 corresponds to the string pulled tight
0 corresponds to the string let loose

When 1’s and 0’s appear on the string, say, once every 1 hour, the receiver will have no problem gauging the tension of the string and decode the information as 1 or 0.

Now, if 1’s and 0’s appear on the string, once every 1 second, the receiver may not be able to correctly identify the bits sent. Varying tension on the string sets waves out that need some time to dissipate. If a next bit appears before the waves from the previous die out, the receiver may have trouble identifying the new bit. Thus, the string has an upper limit on the speed at which bits can be sent over it. This upper limit on the speed is called bandwidth.

Next: Why is optical fiber faster than cable?

Article By: Dr. Gururaj Naik.
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