The Internet has become an essential part of any modern business due to its various capabilities. It is thus important to know certain basic terms, which will guide you in choosing the right Internet service provider from the many options available in the market. To start with, you must understand the current and future technology needs of your organization. Another important factor that will guide you in your choice is knowing the various types of internet speeds available in the market. Service providers use certain abbreviations to denote Internet speeds. Below is a brief overview of some of these terms.
Kbps
Kbps is an abbreviation for kilobits per second and it is used to denote the slowest internet connections. This is the smallest bit used in measurement of information and was commonly used by mobile carriers in the past before the invention of faster connections. 1000 bits make up a kilobit. A dial-up modem, which one of the slowest internet connection operates at between 40 and 50 Kbps. If an internet has this type of abbreviation, it is too slow,meaning that it will take longer to download or upload your documents.
KB/s
Another common abbreviation that is used to denote internet speed is KB/s, which stands for kilobytes per second. Eight bits make up a byte and this term is used to denote files stored in a computer. A number of dial-up modems in the market use this abbreviation. Internet connections running on KB/s are still considered as slow, but you can use them to comfortably download smaller images from the Net.
Mbps and MB/s
Mbps is yet another abbreviation that is used by internet service providers. It simply stands for megabits per second. A megabit is made of 1000 kilobits. MB/s denotes Megabytes per second. 1000 megabits make up a megabyte and this unit is used as a measurement for large computer files. Internet connections denoted by both of these abbreviations are quite fast and can load many typical files and applications. Most offices use this type of connection for their internet needs.
Gbps
Gbps stands for gigabits per second and it is used to denote the fastest commercial internet speed in the market currently. 125 megabytes make up one gigabit. Internet service providers who use Gbps target to serve organizations that need fast connections to download and upload stuff on the Internet. With such a connection, you can be able to download flicks or images in less than a second.
Understanding all the abbreviations described above will guide you in picking the right connection that will suit the needs of your business. Connections with speeds of Mbps are ideal for conducting majority of business operations over the Internet as you can upload and download files effectively. Contact an internet service provider, such as Solarus, for more information.
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