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bandwidth Last modified: Thursday, July 24, 2003

(1) A range within a band of frequencies or wavelengths. (2) The amount of data that can be transmitted in a fixed amount of time. For digital devices, the bandwidth is usually expressed in bits per second(bps) or bytes per second. For analog devices, the bandwidth is expressed in cycles per second, or Hertz (Hz). The bandwidth is particularly important for I/O devices. For example, a fast disk drive can be hampered by a bus with a low bandwidth. This is the main reason that new buses, such as AGP, have been developed for the PC.

Article on cable modems  This Byte magazine article, from September 1996, provides information on the development of technologies that will solve bandwidth problems, with information on cable modems, ADSL, copper vs. coaxial, phone and cable problems, and infrastructure debates. FAQ on bandwidth Provides a detailed explanation to the question, "How fast does my net connection need to be?" The Broadcast Storm Blues Broadcast storms are not to take lightly, they steal precious network bandwidth and can cause havoc on many machines. Citizen Bandwidth Slate e-zine article (November 1997) with information on bandwidth using real-life analogies, humor, and graphs to demystify an understanding of bandwidth. HotWired article on Web slowdowns This September 1996 HotWired article describes Web slowdowns, including what causes them and possible solutions. The relationship between information, bandwidth and noise Technical article/class notes on the relationship between information, bandwidth, and noise.