Important Note:
Although data rates and data storage both use bits, bytes, kilobits, etc, there is an interesting difference. It is generally accepted that when discussing data rates, kilobytes are measured as 1000 bits (not 1024 bits as used in data storage). This FAQ is specifically for data rates only.

Bits and Bytes are binary data units.

Bits:
Bits are the smallest binary data unit. A bit can only represent two binary values (1 or 0)

kilobit = 1000 bits
Megabit = 1000 Kilobits

Bytes:
A byte is a combination of 8 bits. One byte can represent 256 binary values (any number between 0-255).

Kilobyte = 1,000 bytes
Megabyte = 1,000,000 bytes
Gigabyte = 1,000,000,000 bytes

Important Note:
BellSouth advertises their speeds in bits/second not bytes/second:
Lite is 768 kilobits/second (Kbps) or approximately 96 kilobytes/second
Ultra is 1472 kilobits/second (Kbps) or approximately 184 kilobytes/second
Extreme 3.0 is 3000 kilobits/second (Kbps) or approximately 375 kilobytes/second
Extreme 6.0 is 6000 kilobits/second (Kbps) or approximately 750 kilobytes/second

Bit to Byte Calculations:
You can divide your speed (kilobits) by 8 to get your kilobytes or use this handy calculator tool for converting these measurements.



Andy Houtz DSL

got feedback? got feedback?

Any feedback you provide is sent to the owner of this FAQ for possible incorporation and shown publically as well.

by Andy Houtz edited by FAQFixer
last modified: 2009-01-03 14:20:07