Bandwidth

What is bandwidth?

In networking, bandwidth is the most data a link can move per second, so internet plans are sold by it. The word has an older meaning in radio, the width of a band of frequencies, and the two are linked: a wider radio channel can carry more data. In daily use, people say "bandwidth" and "speed" for the same thing, and that is fine as long as you remember that latency is a different quantity.

The pipe image works. A wide pipe lets many things flow at once. A narrow one lets a few. Neither says how long the pipe is.

Who shares the bandwidth on a wireless network?

Your own household shares your plan: every phone, TV, camera and laptop draws from the same capacity. Upstream, the customers on one tower share the radio capacity of that tower, which is a normal feature of any shared network, wireless or cable. This is one reason the plans say "up to" and why an evening can differ from a morning.

A radio channel has a set width, covered under channel width, and the operator sets how it is used. High Desert does not publish tower loading or typical speeds, and this page does not guess.

What should I do about it?

See what is using yours. A security camera that uploads all day, a cloud backup, a game download and several streams add up. The guide on seeing what is using your bandwidth shows how to look, and estimating your monthly data use helps with totals.

If you want more room, compare plans on the plans page or ask a person at 775-575-9593. A wired test, described on the speed test page, shows what the connection itself delivers.