isr.co.ro : glossary Bandwidth The rate at which data is--or can be--sent across a particular connection or pathway. In practice, the bandwidth for digital systems is equivalent to the maximum transfer rate in bits per second, although technical differences between the two exist. The notion of bandwidth is applied to contexts as diverse as people, as in "she's definitely high bandwidth," and cable TV systems, as in "the old system was limited to a bandwidth of 100 megahertz." When it comes to the Internet, you generally pay more for hardware or connections with higher bandwidth. But the cost may be worth it if you need short transmission times or if you must regularly transfer large amounts of data.