Bandwidth
The data-carrying capacity of a link, usually in bits per second, and a key constraint that decides which IoT radio and payload format a device can use.
In networking, bandwidth describes how much data a link can move per unit of time; in radio engineering it also means the width of the frequency channel, and the two are related because wider channels carry more bits. IoT technologies span an enormous range, from LPWAN radios that move a few bytes per message to Wi-Fi and 5G links that stream video.
The constraint shapes design decisions far from the radio. A device on NB-IoT will compress its payload with a binary format such as CBOR instead of verbose JSON, batch readings to reduce overhead and may be unable to receive an OTA update at all. Bandwidth also costs power: higher data rates need more complex modulation and more radio-on time. It is distinct from latency; a link can be wide and slow or narrow and quick.
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