Ping Speed dependency on wireless and wired modes

At http://ping-test.net, I found that the ping is increased by the delay introduced by physical link between two routers. Therefore, the large latency is visible in case of intercontinental connections where very long fiber links are used.

I had this idea that wired communication was faster than in case of wireless. Specially, if it is a fiber optic cable. Therefore, won’t it be more feasible to have communication between different countries through satellites rather than having long physical cables?

You’ve raised a very interesting question.
Ping is a measure of time. Satellites communication use electromagnetic waves for communication. Fiber optics use light (typically 1310nm-1550nm wavelength) for communication. Depending on the refractive index of the fiber optic cable, the “speed” of communication is almost the same in both cases.

So it all depends on the distance. Comparing the distance between two points on earth via satellite ( A -> S -> B) and using land route (A -> B). Either of them can be shorter. However, the bandwidth available via Fiber Optics is theoretically infinite. (very large compared to satellites in practice.)

4 Likes

Amazing. Thanks! :smiley: