Latency, ping and jitter explained

What is internet latency?

Latency is the time it takes for data to travel between two points and for a response to return, depending on how the measurement is defined. It is commonly reported in milliseconds (ms). Lower latency generally means a quicker response, which can make interactive activities feel more immediate.

Latency depends on more than your internet plan. Physical distance, network routing, congestion, Wi-Fi interference, router performance and the destination server can all affect the result.

What does ping measure?

Ping commonly refers to a small test message sent to a destination to check reachability and measure round-trip response time. Many traditional ping utilities use ICMP echo requests. Some browser-based tools instead time HTTP requests to a web server. These methods are not interchangeable: they use different protocols and may follow different handling paths.

What is jitter?

Jitter describes variation in packet delay or response timing over time. Inconsistent delay can be disruptive for real-time voice, video and interactive applications even when average latency looks acceptable. Measurement methods differ, so compare like with like and avoid treating a browser timing estimate as a full network packet-jitter measurement.

Why latency and jitter matter

• Online games: response delay can affect how quickly actions are reflected in the game. Server location and routing matter.
• Video and voice calls: changing delay can contribute to uneven conversation flow and interruptions.
• Remote desktop: high response time can make mouse, keyboard and screen interactions feel sluggish.
• Web browsing: repeated request delays can make pages feel slow even when large downloads are fast.

How to investigate high response times

1. Compare Wi-Fi with a wired Ethernet connection if possible.
2. Move closer to the router and reduce physical obstructions.
3. Pause large uploads, downloads and cloud synchronisation while testing.
4. Compare results at different times to identify possible congestion patterns.
5. Test more than one destination. A slow route to one server does not prove the whole internet connection is slow.
6. Restart network equipment only when appropriate, and check for router firmware updates from its manufacturer.