4 Things You Must Know About Megabits!

If you've ever shopped around for a new internet service provider, there is no doubt you've seen the following abbreviation: Mbps. And you've surely also heard discussion over something called megabits.

You might have thought, "What is a megabit?" "Is it the same as a megabyte?"

It is important to know what a megabit is. Megabits come into play anytime you use the internet. Your internet's download and upload speeds are measured in megabits. So, if you ever want to stream a movie you need to know what Mbps your internet provides, so you know if it is fast enough to stream a movie with that file size.

When you are shopping around for an internet service provider it is important to understand megabits, so that you can properly compare one internet service provider to another. So, to help you get a better understanding on this important unit of measurement, here are 4 things you must know about megabits:

1. A megabit is smaller than a megabyte

A megabit is a measurement used to measure computer storage sizes or digital information transferring. One megabit equals 1 million bits. And one megabyte is equal to 8 megabits. So, when looking at file sizes, internet speeds, etc, always keep in mind that megabit (with an I) is NOT just someone misspelling or mispronouncing megabytes (with a Y). It is its own unit of measurement. It is smaller than a megabyte. One megabit is not equal to one megabyte. Again, 8 megabits equals one megabyte.

2. It has a small b, not a big B

Another way that people get megabits and megabytes confused is with their abbreviations. Just like megabits and megabytes are very different, so are MB and Mb. Again, this is not just a misspelling. When abbreviated, megabytes are symbolized with a capital B, whereas megabits use a lowercase b. An uppercase B stands for "byte," and a lowercase b stands for "bit." So, when you see MB (with the capital B), it is referring to megabytes. When you see an Mb, you are looking at megabits.

3. What megabits are used to calculate

So why are megabits so important? Why do we see megabits, or Mb so often when we're on the internet? Well, megabits are typically used to calculate internet speeds. While megabytes and gigabytes are generally used as a measurement of file sizes ("this high definition movie is 3 gigabytes"), megabits are usually used when referring to speeds, space, and memory.

You will usually see a megabyte measurement when you're looking to stream a movie. You will see a megabit measurement when you are shopping for a new internet service provider.

4. What Mbps means

So, as I explained, megabits are used very often when referring to internet speeds. But it's not just the megabits that are calculated. When it comes to internet download and upload speeds, you will typically see the abbreviation "Mbps." You know that Mb stands for megabits. So what does that "ps" mean?

When you see "Mbps" the "ps" stands for "per second." So when you see Mbps, that means megabits per second. This Mbps will tell you what internet upload or download speed you are working with. So, if your internet connection boasts a 6 Mbps download speed, that means that your internet connection will allow you to download 6 megabits per second.

      Nicole

About the Guest Author:

This article was written by Nicole, a blogger for CLEARinternetservice.org/. They are a leading provider of 4G wireless internet you can use at home or on the go.