How many megabites are in a gigabite?

Answer 1

When referring to data transfer speeds (bits), the decimal system is always used:

• 1000 bits = 1 kilobit
• 1000 kilobits = 1 megabit
• 1000 megabits = 1 gigabit

• 1000 bytes = 1 kilobyte
• 1000 kilobytes = 1 megabyte
• 1000 megabytes = 1 gigabyte

Two types of numerical systems used with computers are the decimal system and the binary system. The decimal system is the official definition, which counts the kilo as 1000, while the unofficial binary system counts the kilo as 1024.

As an aside, the binary system that uses 1024 bits instead also uses different terminology. The kilobit becomes the kibibit; the megabit becomes the mebibit; and the gigabit becomes the gibibit.

Getting back to our more familiar decimal designations, abbreviations can often cause confusion. For example, an internet provider might advertise speeds of 1500 kbps, while a potential customer might assume the abbreviation refers to kilobytes. Typically, measurements in bytes are used with a capital letter, such as "kBps," or "KBps." If all of the abbreviated letters are small case, the reference should be to bits. However, kilobit, megabit and gigabit might also be abbreviated as kbit, Mbit and Gbit, without any ambiguity.

Answer 2

1024