What is internet latency?

• Internet latency is the time it takes for data to travel between a device and a server, measured in milliseconds, and affects online activities like gaming, streaming, and video conferencing.
• High latency causes delays or lags, but it can be reduced with solutions such as wired connections, hardware upgrades, and optimizing server choices.

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Internet latency is the wait between sending data and getting a response. It’s measured in milliseconds (ms). It shapes how fast the internet feels: with low latency, video starts without stalling, game moves land when you press the key, and voices line up with faces in a call. When latency rises, streams buffer, games lag, and people end up talking over each other.Understanding internet latency and its impact can help you optimize your online experience.

Also read: Do proxy servers increase internet speed?
Also read: Maximise network efficiency: Basic steps to increase bandwidth

What is internet latency?

Internet latency refers to the time it takes for data to travel from your device to a server and back. It’s typically measured in milliseconds (ms) and is commonly called “ping.” Only when the latency is low enough can data travel back and forth at high speed, making the application experience as smooth and fast as flowing water. However, once the delay increases, lag follows, and smoothness is no longer there – this is not only distracting but may also come at a high cost.

Take video conferences as an example: After you speak, the audio needs to be relayed through the server before it can be delivered to others. If the delay is significant, your voice will come long overdue, and others may have already taken the lead. Once the rhythm of a phone call is disrupted, true collaboration will be hard to sustain.

What causes internet latency?

The level of latency is primarily determined by the distance of data transmission, followed by the degree of network busyness, and ultimately by the type of technology adopted.
Physical distance:
The greater the delay, the farther the path and the longer the journey. For instance, the time it takes to send a request to a server on the other side of the world is directly proportional to its distance and is much longer than that of making a request to a neighboring server.
Network congestion:
It is precisely when numerous users and devices share the same network simultaneously, causing an increase in traffic and a slowdown in links, that latency also rises.
Outdated hardware:
Old or slow routers, modems, and end devices can create bottlenecks and add delay.
Routing paths:
The route that packets take matters since each extra hop and detour adds time. A poor route or a misconfigured peer can add delay that is not needed.

Also read: Data latency simplified: A beginner’s guide

How is internet latency measured?

The level of Internet latency directly determines the speed of data movement, and this key indicator is usually measured in milliseconds (ms). Whether data runs fast or slow depends entirely on whether the latency is high or low – the smaller the number of milliseconds, the faster the response speed. The higher the delay, the more additional waiting time there will be. There are three common measurement methods: The so-called Ping test refers to reporting the round-trip journey of a data packet by calculating the time it takes for it to reach the server and return.
Therefore, you can see how the latency grows along the way – this is exactly what Traceroute reveals: the path through each network hop and how time-consuming it is. A crucial point for real-time tasks such as voice or video calls is the extent to which latency varies over time, which is where “jitter” measures.

In the digital age, reducing latency is as important as increasing bandwidth—speed means nothing without responsiveness.

Praveen Jain, SVP at Juniper Networks

The impact of internet latency on online activities

Internet latency can strongly affect the quality of your online experience, and the effect shows up in many common tasks you use every day. Here are clear examples that show how latency changes what you see and hear and how quickly your actions take effect.
Online gaming
Misaiming, failure to dodge in time, and disconnection in team coordination – all of these can stem from insignificant delays. It is precisely in pursuit of ultimate smoothness and speed that players need extremely low latency. Once the delay increases, the operational feedback will come late: frequent shooting mistakes, and the opportunity to win slips away quietly. What’s even more frustrating is that high latency hinders every game action. Even if the frame rate is perfect, the control feeling will become heavy and lagging, ultimately turning the entire game into a torment.
Streaming and video conferencing
Latency adds buffering to video streams and stalls the start of playback, and it can force the player to lower quality so the picture softens even on a fast link. In video calls the same delay pushes voices out of sync and creates talk-over, so people pause too long or speak at once and the meeting flow breaks.
Web browsing
High latency slows the first byte and the many follow-up requests for images, scripts, and fonts, so pages wait longer before rendering and the screen feels stuck. Forms submit more slowly and clicks take longer to respond, so users lose time and teams see lower productivity across routine workflows.

Also read: How to test and reduce high latency on your network

What is Bandwidth?

Measured in Mbps (megabits per second) or Gbps (Gigabits per second), it is the most common way to represent bandwidth – simply put, it refers to the maximum amount of data your network can handle within a unit of time.

It tells you how much data your network can handle at once, and this matters for big downloads, high-definition video, and homes with many phones, tablets, and computers online at the same time at home, and when load is high, high bandwidth is important.

The higher the bandwidth, the wider the data lane is, and more data can pass at once together. This way, you can join a video meeting while background updates download and several tasks run at the same time, and the link will not lag easily, and the experience stays smooth and stable, even apps use the connection at once.

Also read: 7 hidden culprits behind high internet latency

Understanding latency in cloud computing

Latency plays a key role in cloud computing, and smooth, real-time access to remote resources is a basic need. Cloud apps, services, and storage rely on low-latency links to deliver the speed and response that businesses and users expect, and high latency can break these flows by slowing file transfers and holding back remote work tools and hurting user experience across web-based platforms.
For businesses, latency is critical when work is time-sensitive, and common cases include financial transactions and data processing and customer service. Delays from high latency cut productivity and reduce efficiency and can cause direct financial loss, and choosing a cloud provider that keeps latency low is a strategic choice for many teams.

Low latency is the key to unlocking seamless experiences in gaming, streaming, and cloud computing, where every millisecond counts.

J.J. Kardwell, CEO of Vultr

Latency in emerging technologies

As 5G, IoT, and edge computing grow in use, the need to cut latency grows very fast today:
5G networks
A main benefit of 5G is low latency, and it enables self-driving systems and real-time augmented reality apps at scale.

Internet of things (IoT)
IoT devices need near-instant links to work well daily. Low latency keeps connected devices running smoothly today

Edge computing
Edge computing handles data near the source, so traffic travels less distance and delay drops by a large margin.

Also read: Latency in gaming: Why low ping is crucial for smooth gameplay
Also read: Why latency is slowing down your network

Why does latency matter?

Latency plays a big role in how good your internet feels, and it shapes many tasks you do online every day. Here is how it affects key activities now:

1. Online gaming: In fast-paced or competitive games, it is precisely high latency that widens the gap between your operation and the game feedback – it not only makes precise timing completely ineffective, but also plunges players into deep frustration. It can be said that the success or failure of a game is often determined by this delay of just a few milliseconds.
2. Streaming: Latency is less visible than in gaming, but high latency can cause buffering and push the stream to lower quality, so video looks soft and starts late.
3. Video conferencing: High latency adds delays in sound or video, and calls get awkward pauses and talk-over, and this is a problem for business meetings and online classes.
4. Web browsing: High latency slows page loads and click response, so sites feel slow even when your internet is fast.

Common causes of high latency

There are several factors that can contribute to high internet latency:

• Physical distance: The farther data travels between your device and the server, the higher the delay, and long routes add time at each hop. If the server sits on another continent, the trip is longer, so response times rise.
• Network congestion: When many users send traffic at once, links fill up and queues form, and packets wait in line. Busy hours on your network or your ISP’s network slow transmission, so latency goes up.
• Outdated equipment: Old routers, modems, or end devices process packets more slowly and drop more frames, and this adds extra retries. Weak CPUs and old firmware waste cycles, so delay increases.
• Satellite internet: Data goes up to a satellite and then back down, and the path is very long. Even with fast radios, the long distance adds time, so latency is high.

Also read: What is latency in computers? A beginner’s guide

How to reduce latency

If you have high latency, here are simple steps to improve your connection:

1. Switch to a wired connection: Use Ethernet instead of Wi-Fi, and the link stays steadier and often faster, and it cuts interference and jitter, so delay drops.
2. Upgrade your hardware: Get a newer router or modem, and it processes packets faster and manages queues better, and firmware updates fix bugs, so latency falls.
3. Limit background activity: Close apps and devices that use bandwidth in the background, and pause big downloads and cloud sync, so more capacity stays free.
4. Choose local servers: Pick a nearby server when the app allows it, and shorter routes mean fewer hops, so response time improves.
5. Contact your ISP: Ask your provider for low-latency options and for line tests or profile changes, and they can fix issues on their side.

Also read: How Anycast routing boosts DNS resilience and reduces latency

The future of internet latency

As technology moves forward, work to cut latency grows as well. New tools like quantum networking, better routing methods, and wide 5G use push how low delay can get. When delay drops, gaming, healthcare, and manufacturing gain new options, like real-time remote surgery and smooth virtual reality.

FAQs: What is internet latency?