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Definition: UL/DL ratio


(Upload/Download ratio, Upstream/Downstream ratio, Uplink/Downlink ratio) The difference in speed between transmitting and receiving. For Internet access, the upload speed from the user is typically considerably lower than the download speed to the user. For example, in requesting a Web page, the user uploads a brief text query to the site, which can result in downloading a huge amount of text and images back to the user. A video download starts with a short upload request that can cause a download a hundred thousand times larger.

With satellite-based Internet access, technically, the uploaded data are travelling via the uplink, and the downloaded data travel via the downlink. However, in practice, the terms upload/download, upstream/downstream and uplink/downlink are used synonymously. See download vs. upload, upload and uplink.