There are many factors that contribute to the quality of an internet connection, one of them being jitter.

When you send and receive data over the internet, it’s transferred in small packets. The time it takes for data to leave your connected device (smartphone, laptop, tablet), travel to its destination, and then return is called latency. But not every data packet transfer takes the same amount of time. Variance in latency time is called jitter. A higher jitter can mean there is network congestion, while low jitter generally results in a more stable connection.

Think of the internet like a highway. High jitter is rush hour – constantly stopping and going. Low jitter, on the other hand, is when traffic flows consistently. Whether fast or slow, it travels at a consistent pace.

A low jitter rate is more important for activities that involve connected to a server, like online gaming or streaming 4K video. Basic online activities like checking email and browsing social media are least affected by jitter.