without using additional probing packets , estimates of the narrow link bandwidth and available bandwidth of a network path are computed based on existing traffic . the network can be of different types such as a wireless battlefield network context or a wired or wireless commercial network environment . “ fast packets ”, i . e . those packets which do not experience any queuing delay in the network , are identified . fast packets are identified to resolve end - to - end packet delay into its constituent components , estimate path utilization and eliminate the uncertainty that causes the prior art method to lose its effectiveness . an estimation algorithm computes end - to - end transmission delay and end - to - end deterministic delay of fast packets traveling along a path in a network . examples of deterministic delay include satellite propagation delays and clock effects . then , based on the results of the fast packet identifying algorithm , two logic branches are followed . a first branch calculates utilization and a second branch calculates narrow link bandwidth . the narrow link bandwidth is determined from the packet pair dispersion . the available bandwidth is obtained from the narrow link bandwidth and the utilization . estimation of available bandwidth for an end - to - end network path allows traffic sources to judiciously regulate the volume of application traffic injected into the network .