kilobit

A kilobit is an expression of grouped bits meaning 1,000 (10³) bits. Use of the term to denote a kibibit, although the most common use due to the nature of bits (binary digits), is deprecated and contrary to international standard.^[1]

The term 'kilobit' is most commonly used in the expression of data rates (digital communication speeds) in the abbreviated form "kbps", "kb/s"^[2], or "kbit/s", meaning "kilobits per second". For example, "a 56 kbit/s PSTN", or "a 512 kbit/s broadband Internet connection".

The abbreviation kb (for kilobit) should not be confused with the abbreviation of the term kilobyte (abbreviated to kB or KB, with an upper case B). Though the prefix "kilo-" is often (contrary to international standard) used to indicate 1,024 when used with Bytes, the decimal definition (1 kilobit per second = 1,000 bits per second) is used uniformly in the context of telecommunication transmission speeds.

See also

• bit
• kibibit
• Data rate units
• orders of magnitude (data)
• Binary prefix
• SI prefix

References

1. ^ NTIS summary of IEC standard 60027-2
2. ^ IEEE information for authors, Appendix A