Expert: Cezar L. Palconet - 5/29/2010

Question
Hi there,

When an ISP quotes download bandwidth such as 2.0 Mbps, how does that ISP regulate that speed once that particular Internet package is purchased?

Thanks

Answer
Hi, Diana

Internet traffic is asymmetrical, meaning upload and download are not of the same bandwidth, your ISP capitalize on this when delivering bandwidth (retail) to each customer.
thus when you access goggle you are actually sending a very small query, and goggle downloads a web page, and you spend more time moving around that page.

Internet resources like bandwidth are a shared among different customers.
as you might upload, somebody else is downloading, thus the aggregate bandwidth is shared between you two.
in most cases, when you query a web site the amount of traffic is very small, and when the page is displayed, you spend more time looking and going around that page, thus giving your vacant resources to others. thus shared.


let me put it in simple term, water analogy:

Your ISP quoted 2 Mbps, this is like them saying you have a two inch pipe, so you have the ability to have a water flow of 2 inch, but... the municipal supply is only a trickle of about 1 inch, thus you will get a 1 inch flow,(remember shared resource) but when the municipal supply is abundant you can have a 2 inch flow.

that is why you will notice that even if you have a large bandwidth you will still experience a sluggish connection, because resources are being used up.


best regards.