Bandwidth is a measure of the volume of information that can be passed through a network or communication channel. Typically it is measured in millions of bits per second for low level communications such as raw network speed or millions of bytes per second for higher level comms. These are writtem as Mbs and MBs respectively, so easy to confuse even though 1 MBs ~ 10 Mbs.
When thinking about the quality of a network, alongside bandwidth one normally considers latency (the end-to-end delay) and jitter (how much the latency may vary from message to message). In addition, in rural areas or other places with poor connectuvity, glitches are also crucial, short periods when the connectivity breeaks entirely.
Used in glossary entries: glitches, jitter, latency
Box on bandwidth from Network-Based Interaction
Bandwidth, latency, and jitter. Figure 12.7 from Network-Based Interaction