Which term best describes link capacity to carry data on a channel?

• A. Bandwidth
• B. Throughput
• C. Latency
• D. Goodput

Answer: (A)

Bandwidth is the capacity of a link to carry data—the maximum data rate the channel can support, usually measured in bits per second. It reflects the channel’s physical or spectral limits and the signaling method used. Throughput is the actual data rate achieved, which can be lower due to congestion, overhead, or errors. Latency is the delay to deliver a bit from sender to receiver, not the amount the link can carry per second. Goodput is the useful payload rate after removing protocol overhead. So the term that best describes the link’s capacity to carry data on a channel is bandwidth.