Definition
How much data can be transmitted in a time period over a communications channel, often expressed in kilobits per second (kbps).
Information
The difference between bandwidth and data transfer causes much confusion and is worth noting.
Bandwidth is a rate and data transfer is a total. For example, you might be a web hosting plan with 128 kbps of bandwidth for a maximum monthly data transfer of roughly 40 GB.
| 128 kbps | = bits | = bytes |
| per second | 128,000 | 16,000 |
| per minute | 7,680,000 | 960,000 |
| per hour | 460,800,000 | 57,600,000 |
| per day | 11,059,200,000 | 1,382,400,000 |
| per month | 331,776,000,000 | 41,472,000,000 |
| divide by one billion ~41 gigabytes/month |
Note: many hosts use the terms bandwidth and data transfer interchangeably, referring to the monthly data allowance as bandwidth.
Articles
WebHosting Bandwidth – An Introduction
SitePoint.com (May 14, 2001)
Related Terms
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