What is Latency?

Latency is the delay in how long it takes for information to be sent and then received. Latency is usually measured in milliseconds or ms. When conducting speed tests, it’s also referred to as a Ping rate.

Latency helps determine internet speeds alongside bandwidth. Ideally, the lower the latency the better as it means you get your information quicker. Higher latency speeds mean that website pages take longer to load, video and audio is delayed, frozen or distorted.

Latency doesn’t just relate to internet speeds, it applies to all connectivity such as if you have two servers and they need to transmit information to each sever, you can use latency to determine how quickly it receives the information.

How is Latency different from Bandwidth?

Bandwidth determines the maximum capacity of a network or internet connection whereas latency determines the speed of which data can be sent and received.