When it comes to internet-related activities, there are some that work well regardless of latency, while others benefit greatly from lower latency. Latency refers to the time delay between a user's action on the internet and the response of the system. Here are some examples of activities that fall into each category:

Activities that work well regardless of latency:

• Reading and browsing web pages: When you're simply reading text or looking at images, latency is less of an issue. Even if it takes a few seconds for a page to load, you can still read the content once it's there.

• Streaming pre-recorded video or audio: When you're streaming pre-recorded content, it's less important that the content starts playing immediately. As long as the content is able to load at a steady pace, you can enjoy it without interruptions.

Activities that benefit from lower latency (less than 100 ms):

• Online gaming: Online gaming requires fast response times, as any delay between a player's action and the game's response can be detrimental to gameplay. Lower latency can give players an edge in fast-paced games.

• Video conferencing: In video conferencing, lower latency means that there is less delay between when someone speaks and when their voice is heard by others. This can help make conversations feel more natural and prevent people from talking over each other.

In summary, activities that involve real-time interactions, such as online gaming and video conferencing, benefit greatly from lower latency. On the other hand, activities that involve reading or streaming pre-recorded content are less affected by latency and can still be enjoyed even with some delay.

Fiber Optics

With the right equipment on the ends, a single fiber optic cable pair can carry as much data at once as the entire internet uses today. With commonly available hardware for residences and small businesses, the limit is closer to 1-10 Gbps. This still leaves it as the fastest and most future-proof technology available. Fiber to the home (FTTH) is a way of providing internet access using fiber optic cable between a residence and an internet backbone. ISPs who offer this kind of service typically start at 100 Mbps and offer speeds up to 1000 Mbps. Fiber service is also often symmetric, or at least closer to symmetric than other types, meaning much more upload. Latency is typically 20 ms or less.

Cable

Cable typically refers to coaxial cable, and has similar typical download speeds to fiber today. Cable has significantly lower upload speeds (10-40 Mbps) compared to Fiber (100-1000 Mbps). Latency is also comparable, topping out at about 60 ms.

DSL

DSL stands for digital subscriber line and is a type of internet connection that uses existing telephone lines to transmit data. DSL internet is widely available and is usually cheaper than fiber or cable internet. However, its speeds are usually slower than fiber or cable internet, topping out around 20/2 Mbps, and it can be affected by distance from the telephone company's switching hardware, dropping as low as 7/1 Mbps. Its reliability is comparable to that of land line telephone service in the same location. Latency approaches and sometimes exceeds 100 ms on DSL.

Fixed Wireless

Fixed wireless internet uses radio waves to transmit data. It requires a dish or antenna on your roof or outside your home to receive the signal. Fixed wireless internet is usually available in rural areas where other types of internet services are not available. Speeds are generally comparable to or higher than DSL (20-50 Mbps) but the service requires line of sight from the customer's antenna to the provider's tower. Latency is typically in the 60-80 ms range.

Satellite

Satellite internet recently fractured into two major categories: Traditional GEO Satellite and newer LEO Satellite. The acronyms refer to where the sattelites sit in orbit. GEO stands for Geosynchronous Orbit, roughly 22,000 miles from the surface of the earth. LEO stands for Low Earth Orbit, less than 1,200 miles from the surface.

GEO Satellite

Providers like Hughes Net and Viasat offer satellite services in the range of 20-50 Mbps with data caps which trigger much slower internet after 60-500 GB of internet usage in a month. The high distance from the surface results in latency in the 600+ ms range. For basic service, the price starts at $50/mo and climbs quickly to $200/mo.

LEO Satellite

SpaceX Starlink is currently the only provider offering satellite service in LEO. Amazon's project Kuiper is progressing, but they have not yet launched any satellites (as of March 15th, 2023). Starlink offers speeds at 150/10 Mbps with latency stable in the 60-80 ms range. Starlink does have a data cap at 1 TB per month for usage during peak hours. Scheduling updates for very early morning can help reduce usage. Starlink currently charges $120/mo for residential service in Walla Walla and Columbia Counties. Starlink also offers a business class service which is in effect 5x everything: five times the hardware cost, five times the monthly cost, for five times the speed.

As we increasingly rely on the internet for work, entertainment, and communication, the vast array of terminology used in the digital world can be overwhelming. From bits and bytes to bandwidth and latency, the jargon can often leave people feeling confused and discouraged. However, understanding the basics of internet-related units and their definitions can go a long way in improving our comprehension of how the internet works and enhancing our ability to communicate about it. By familiarizing ourselves with common units and their magnitudes, we can navigate the online world with greater ease and confidence.

The Terms

bit and Mbps

A bit is the smallest unit of data in a computer. It can have two values - 0 or 1. It's also how bandwidth is measured, in bits per second. Modern internet connections are mostly measured in megabits per second or Mbps (millions of bits per second) while some of the earliest connections were measured in baud (another word for just bits per second). The fastest internet connections for home use are typically 1 Gbps, a gigabit per second, or one billion bits per second. That's a lot of bits!

byte and MB/s, GB, and TB

A byte is a group of 8 bits. It is the most common unit of measurement for computer data storage. The math gets a bit weird for bytes, since the prefixes don't behave the same. A kilobyte is actually 1024 bytes, and a megabyte is 1024 kilobytes or 1,048,576 bytes. When downloading something from the internet, your browser will often report the speed in bytes per second rather than bits per second. A good rule of thumb is to multiply the bytes per second by 8 to get the bits per second (or vice versa). Example: 40 MB/s is actually closer to 320 mbps.

Data caps are in GB, gigabytes, roughly a billion bytes, or TB, terabytes, roughly a trillion bytes. These seem absolutely massive until you realize that a gigabyte is 3 movies on Netflix, and a terabyte can be just two AAA game titles being downloaded.

seconds and ms

A second is a common unit, especially when we need to take a breath and count to 10. Milliseconds (ms) are less common in everyday conversation. A millisecond is one thousandth of a second, and while that may seem tiny, they can really add up. Milliseconds are frequently used to measure internet latency, and when we're used to computers doing things in a split second, we mean less than 100 ms. When computers take longer than 100 ms to even respond, we definitely start to notice. When they take longer than 500 ms, that's half a second between clicking a link and a page even starting to load.

The context

When you're using the internet, you're often using it in many ways at a time. Multiple people in the house watching different shows on YouTube or Netflix; someone doing a video call for work or school; your security camera uploading video of your driveway just in case something happens while you're not watching. Each of these things contributes to your download and upload usage in Mbps. Knowing the capacity of your connection and what each device uses can help you limit your usage to match what you have available or make sure you pick a provider that gives you what you need for what you want to do.

Knowing how many updates your devices are doing and at what times of day can help you avoid surprise encounters with data caps. They may also drive you to unlimited providers even if those providers might be slower.

Latency is often a surprise satisfaction killer when it comes to internet. Not knowing how that ms number can affect your experience can leave you in the middle of a long term commitment with a provider that is painful to use.