What latency, jitter, and DNS mean
Speed is only part of the picture. These measures explain why an internet connection can be fast yet still feel unreliable.
Latency (ping)
Latency is the time a signal takes to travel out and back, measured in milliseconds. Lower is more responsive.
It matters for online games and video calls. Under 50 ms is usually excellent; past 100 ms, lag is often noticeable.
Jitter
Jitter is the variation in latency. If response time swings too much, calls break up and games stutter even when average latency is low.
Packet loss
Some data does not make it through and must be sent again. That can cause stuttering, choppy audio, and frozen video.
DNS
DNS is the internet’s directory: it turns a website name into an address your device can reach. When DNS is slow, pages take longer to start loading even if your connection speed is good.