Different measurements.
BANDWIDTH
The maximum rate data can be transferred.
Usually what a connection is sold on.
LATENCY
The time for data to travel there and back.
Measured in milliseconds.
THROUGHPUT
The rate you actually achieve, which is lower than bandwidth.
WHY THE DISTINCTION MATTERS
High bandwidth with high latency feels slow.
Loading a page involves many small exchanges, and each waits for a round trip.
WHAT THAT EXPLAINS
Why a fast connection can still feel sluggish to a distant server.
And why a server closer to the visitor feels faster regardless of bandwidth.
WHAT AFFECTS LATENCY
Physical distance The number of hops Congestion The type of connection
WHAT AFFECTS THROUGHPUT
Bandwidth, latency, packet loss, and the other party's capacity
PACKET LOSS
Data that does not arrive and must be resent.
Even small loss reduces throughput substantially.
WHAT TO MEASURE
All three, not bandwidth alone.
