Bits Per Second (bps)


Bps (bits per second) is a unit used for measuring the speed of transmission of data on a network.

What is bits per second (bps)?

Bps is a unit used for measuring the speed of transmission of data on a network of computers – that is the amount of information sent or received in a given amount of time. A bit is a single unit of digital information, represented by either a 1 or a 0.

bits per second (bps)
bits per second

The total number of bits per second (bps) that can be transmitted over a network link represents the bandwidth of that link. Because most network communication takes place at thousands or millions of bits per second, the following related units are commonly used:

  • Kbps = kilobits per second (103 bps)
  • Mbps = megabits per second (106 bps)
  • Gbps = gigabits per second (109 bps)

Bits per second is the standard measure of bit rate speed. However, millions of bits can be transferred in a second and measuring in single bit units can be cumbersome. To simplify data transfer rates, an International System of Units prefix is used. These include kilo, mega and giga.

Editor

Articles posted after being checked by editors.

Recent Posts