Latency

Although it may seem that the Internet connection is instantaneous, it is not, because the data must make a journey, the duration of which is called network latency. Latency is the average time which measures the speed at which data travels through the entire network, latency, more precisely, from your device to the server, and from the server back to your device. Latency is measured in milliseconds.

The higher the latency, the longer it takes for a device to respond to our requests. In general, it is estimated that if the latency exceeds 200 ms, the device will operate too slowly for our liking.

Jitter and ping: concepts similar to latency, but not the same

There are two concepts that are often confused with latency and each other: jitter and ping. Although these concepts are interrelated, they measure different aspects of network connections.

Variations in the latency at which data packets travel through the network are called jitter. That is, if there is little variation in the entire network path between one packet and another, the jitter will be low, regardless of how long it takes. If one packet arrives very fast and the other packet is significantly delayed, the jitter will be high.

The most problematic concept is the ping, ping, as many people believe it to be synonymous with latency. Ping is simply a method of measuring latency, which consists of sending a signal and measuring how long it takes to return.

What factors influence network latency?

There are a multiplicity of factors that influence whether latency is higher or lower, so high latency is often not a simple problem to solve. These factors are:

• Physical distance: The longer the distance between the source and destination points, the higher the latency because the signal needs more time to travel that distance.
• Bandwidth: Bandwidth is the amount of data that can be transmitted on a network in a given time. The bandwidth capacity of the network influences the amount of data that can be transmitted simultaneously. If the network is saturated and receives a lot of traffic, the sending and receiving of data packets may be delayed.
• Type of Internet connection: A connection tends to have lower or higher latency depending on its type. For example, fibre optic connections tend to have lower latency than coaxial cable or DSL connections.
• Equipment capacity: The processing power of network devices, such as routers, also influences latency. More powerful equipment will process traffic more efficiently, with a resulting reduction in latency.
• Network congestion: If there is a peak of traffic on the network at a given time that exceeds the bandwidth, the network becomes congested and data packets pile up and take longer to reach their destination.

Tips for improving latency

While latency is a complex technical issue, here are some general tips for optimising latency on any device:

• Use a wired connection instead of wifi: Wired Ethernet connections tend to exhibit lower latency than wireless connections, especially in high interference environments.
• Optimise your local network: Limit the number of connected devices and optimise your router settings.
• Upgrade your hardware: If your network equipment is old or outdated, it may be time to upgrade to a newer model with better performance and processing power.
• Choose a good and reliable Internet Service Provider (ISP): The quality of service of your ISP, commonly a telephone company, significantly affects the latency of your Internet connection. Do your research and choose a service provider that offers good network infrastructure and reliable performance.
• It uses high-speed network services: If you need minimal latency for specific applications, such as online gaming or work-related video calls, sign up for high-speed Internet services with guaranteed quality of service (QoS).
• Optimise your operating system configuration: Some configurations and programs consume a lot of bandwidth and network resources, which inevitably leads to increased latency. That's why we should always close programs that we are not using, especially if they send a lot of data packets.
• It uses CDN (Content Delivery Network) services: To improve latency when accessing web content, it is best to use CDN network services, which distribute content across geographically distributed servers to reduce the physical distance between the server and the end user.