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What is Bandwidth Usage?

Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Bandwidth usage is the amount of data transmitted and received by a particular computer or user. The more data exchange that occurs, the higher the potential to clog the network, and the more energy taken up by a particular user. As a result, some companies have caps on bandwidth use which are designed to prevent users from transmitting and receiving so much data that they slow the network down, impairing the experience for other users.

In the case of a computer, bandwidth usage refers to all inbound and outbound traffic. Inbound traffic is data which comes into a computer, as for example when someone downloads a file from a website. Outbound traffic is data which is transmitted by the computer, such as a file attached to an email. Typically, usage is measured in bytes per second (Bps), although other units of measurement may be utilized, and service providers express bandwidth limits in terms of gigabytes, with limits commonly being daily or monthly.

In the case of computers, bandwidth usage refers to all inbound and outbound traffic.
In the case of computers, bandwidth usage refers to all inbound and outbound traffic.

Internet providers track bandwidth usage by looking at the amount of data going through a particular connection, or by identifying specific computers. On a college campus, for example, where people may use their computers in a variety of locations, it is commonly tracked by MAC address, and a student who exceeds the limit will be sent a message. People may be allowed to pay extra for additional bandwidth, or to appeal a usage cap on the argument that they need a lot of bandwidth for specific tasks and projects.

Supporters of net neutrality think government legislation is needed to prevent internet service providers from throttling bandwidth for paying customers.
Supporters of net neutrality think government legislation is needed to prevent internet service providers from throttling bandwidth for paying customers.

Websites may also have bandwidth usage caps, with the host providing the website's owner with a set amount of bandwidth per month. If traffic to and from the website exceeds this limit, the site may be shut down, or the user may be presented with a bill for the overage. A spike in bandwidth usage can also overload the servers for a website, causing it to go down, as commonly happens when small websites are linked to by large ones.

Watching a streaming movie may take up to two and a half gigabytes of bandwidth.
Watching a streaming movie may take up to two and a half gigabytes of bandwidth.

For people who are interested in or concerned about their bandwidth usage, it is possible to use a bandwidth monitor to keep track. In the case of individuals who have caps on bandwidth usage, a monitor can help to alert the user that service may be cut off in the near future. As a rough frame of reference, something like a streaming movie can take up around two and a half gigabytes, while an email might be two kilobytes.

Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a EasyTechJunkie researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.

Learn more...
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a EasyTechJunkie researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.

Learn more...

Discussion Comments

basilio

i agree with lanmeng8001. just did a quick online search.

lanmeng8001

It's not easy to give you precise answer, but i can tell you, as per my experience, that it is not more than 50Mb if you use 300,000 pixels webcam.

gem2195

How many kilobytes/gigabytes can chatting through Yahoo Messenger while using my webcam take in my internet bandwidth usage? Let's say we chat for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Thanks! Hoping to receive answers!

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    • In the case of computers, bandwidth usage refers to all inbound and outbound traffic.
      By: mikkolem
      In the case of computers, bandwidth usage refers to all inbound and outbound traffic.
    • Supporters of net neutrality think government legislation is needed to prevent internet service providers from throttling bandwidth for paying customers.
      By: zimmytws
      Supporters of net neutrality think government legislation is needed to prevent internet service providers from throttling bandwidth for paying customers.
    • Watching a streaming movie may take up to two and a half gigabytes of bandwidth.
      By: Ana Blazic Pavlovic
      Watching a streaming movie may take up to two and a half gigabytes of bandwidth.
    • Internet providers track bandwidth usage by looking at the amount of data going through a particular connection, or by identifying specific computers.
      By: JackF
      Internet providers track bandwidth usage by looking at the amount of data going through a particular connection, or by identifying specific computers.