Understanding Bits and Bytes
Know the difference between bits and bytes.
It is easy to lose yourself in technical terminology when shopping for internet providers. A prevalent and consequential mix-up is between Megabits per second (Mbps) and Megabytes per second (MB/s). Although both are measurements of data transfers, confusing them can have major implications.
To understand the two, you first have to grapple with the difference between bits and bytes. Bits are the basic unit of information for computing and measure binary values. Bits per second are commonly used to measure the speed of data transfers, such as internet streaming speeds or download speeds. Bytes, on the other hand, are groups of eight bits, which is the typical amount to produce a single letter, symbol, or number. These metrics are used to describe file sizes or storage space. When using bytes per second, you are typically gauging how fast these files can be transferred. The prefix "mega" indicates that each measure involves one million units.
Comparing Speeds
Understanding megabit per second rates is critical to gauging the quality of your home internet speed. Typically, download speeds severely outpace upload speeds. The FCC lists 100 Mbps as the threshold for broadband internet speed, while the requirement for uploading information is 20 Mbps. Median download and upload speeds continue to rise as broadband standards evolve to meet modern connectivity demands.
Megabytes per second, on the other hand, is typically used to describe the speed of a large data transfer to and from a storage device. For instance, you may use the measure to describe how fast a file can be uploaded to the cloud, or how quickly it can be moved from a hard disk.
Comparing the two metrics is simple: just divide your megabits by eight. For instance, if your internet speed is 100 Mbps, that equates to 12.5 MB/s. Conversely, to convert MB/s to Mbps, simply multiply by 8.
