What is Mbps?
Mbps is an abbreviation for megabits per second. It refers to data transfer speeds as measured in megabits. A bit is a digit of data, either a 0, or a 1. A string of eight bits equals one byte. Any character formed, such as a letter of the alphabet, a number or a punctuation mark, requires eight binary bits to describe it, or one byte of data. For example: • A = 01000001 • B = 01000010 • a = 01100001 • b = 01100010 • 6 = 00110110 • 7 = 00110111 • ! = 00100001 • @ = 01000000 A megabit (mb) actually has two different values depending on what the term is being used to describe. When used to describe data storage, a megabit (mb) is the equivalent of 220 or 1,048,576 bits. However, when used to describe data transfer rates, one mb equals 1,000,000 bits. Therefore: 1 mbps (megabit per second) = 1,000,000 bits per second In addition to the confusion over the value of a megabit (mb), there is also confusion between the megabit (mb) and the megabyte (MB). As noted earlier one byte (B) is compri
Stands for “Megabits Per Second.” One megabit is equal to one million bits or 1,000 kilobits. While “megabit” sounds similar to “megabyte,” a megabit is roughly one eighth the size of a megabyte (since there are eight bits in a byte). Mbps is used to measure data transfer speeds of high bandwidth connections, such as Ethernet and cable modems.
