KBPS

What is KBPS?

Kbps is an acronym for kilobits per second, which is a measure of data transfer speed. One Kbps is equal to 1,000 bits per second. For example, a 300 Kbps connection can transfer 300,000 bits in one second. 1,000 Kbps is equal to 1 Mbps.

The term is a combination of kilo, a commonly used prefix with metric units of measurement to denote groups of 1,000, and bit, which is the smallest unit of information in a digital system. Note that while Kbps is 1,000 bits per second, a kilobyte (KB) is 1,024 bytes.

Kbps uses

Kbps was used to measure the rate of data transmission in earlier technology, such as for dial-up modems. As recent innovations and improvements have led to faster speeds, data speeds are now measured with Mbps and even Gbps instead of Kbps. Systems using Mbps include broadband connections such as cable and DSL. Systems that still run at Kbps speeds include:

The lowercase “b” in Kbps is significant. Kbps should not be confused with KBps. Where the lowercase “b” in Kbps denotes bits, the uppercase “B” in KBps denotes byte, which is a group of eight bits. So, a kilobit would refer to 1,000 bits whereas a kilobyte would refer to 8,000 bits. Because data transfer speed is traditionally measured in bps, Kbps is more common than KBps.

 

 

 

Vangie Beal
Vangie Beal
Vangie Beal is a freelance business and technology writer covering Internet technologies and online business since the late '90s.
Get the Free Newsletter
Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
This email address is invalid.
Get the Free Newsletter
Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
This email address is invalid.

Related Articles

Virtual Private Network (VPN)

A virtual private network (VPN) encrypts a device's Internet access through a secure server. It is most frequently used for remote employees accessing a...

Gantt Chart

A Gantt chart is a type of bar chart that illustrates a project schedule and shows the dependency between tasks and the current schedule...

Input Sanitization

Input sanitization is a cybersecurity measure of checking, cleaning, and filtering data inputs from users, APIs, and web services of any unwanted characters and...

IT Asset Management Software

IT asset management software (ITAM software) is an application for organizing, recording, and tracking all of an organization s hardware and software assets throughout...

ScalaHosting

ScalaHosting is a leading managed hosting provider that offers secure, scalable, and affordable...

HRIS

Human resources information system (HRIS) solutions help businesses manage multiple facets of their...

Best Managed Service Providers...

In today's business world, managed services are more critical than ever. They can...