Kbps, Mbps, Gbps

Definition: The data rate of a computer network connection is normally measured in units of bits per second (bps). Network equipment makers typically rate their products using related, larger units of Kbps, Mbps and Gbps.

• one kilobit per second (Kbps) equals 1000 bits per second (bps). (Note: Kbps is sometimes also written as “kbps” - both carry the same meaning.)
• one megabit per second (Mbps) equals 1000 Kbps or one million bps.
• one gigabit per second (Gbps) equals 1000 Mbps or one million Kbps or one billion bps.

Data rates for non-network equipment are sometimes shown in bytes per second (Bps) rather than bits per second. In those cases,

• one KBps equals one kilobyte per second
• one MBps equals one megabyte per second, and
• one GBps equals one gigabyte per second

Finally, one kilobyte per second equals 8 kilobits per second.

Also Known As: Kb/sec, Kb/s, Mb/sec, Mb/s, Gb/sec, Gb/s

Examples:
Old V.90 modems supported data rates up to 56 Kbps. Traditional Ethernet supported data rates up to 10 Mbps while Fast Ethernet provides 100 Mbps and Gigabit Ethernet supports 1000 Mbps (1 Gbps).