bps

Stands for "Bits Per Second." Bps is a standard way to measure data transfer rates, such as network connection and Internet download speeds.

In the early days of the Internet, data transfer speeds were measured in bps. As Internet connection speeds increased, a variation of bps – Kbps (1,000 bps) – became more common. Today, Internet connection speeds are often measured in Mbps (1,000,000 bps). Some networks support speeds over 1,000 Mbps and are measured in Gbps.

It is important to abbreviate bits per second as "bps" (with a lowercase "b"). The lowercase "b" signifies bits rather than bytes. Since a byte is eight bits, 100 Bps is equal to 800 bps. Variations of Bps, such as megabytes per second or gigabytes per second are typically abbreviated with a slash, such as MB/s or GB/s. These measurements are commonly used to define transfer speeds of internal components, such as HDDs and SSDs.

Updated February 20, 2014 by Per C.

quizTest Your Knowledge

Which of the following is considered a natural number?

A
-12
0%
B
0
0%
C
4.5
0%
D
9
0%
Correct! Incorrect!     View the Natural Number definition.
More Quizzes →

The Tech Terms Computer Dictionary

The definition of bps on this page is an original definition written by the TechTerms.com team. If you would like to reference this page or cite this definition, please use the green citation links above.

The goal of TechTerms.com is to explain computer terminology in a way that is easy to understand. We strive for simplicity and accuracy with every definition we publish. If you have feedback about this definition or would like to suggest a new technical term, please contact us.

Sign up for the free TechTerms Newsletter

How often would you like to receive an email?

You can unsubscribe or change your frequency setting at any time using the links available in each email.

Questions? Please contact us.