Have you come across “Mbps” and “MBps” and wondered what, if any, difference there is between the two? You’re not the only one. Many people, especially those who are shopping for new Internet service, see the two terms and wonder what exactly sets them apart.
In computer lingo, the lower-case “b” refers to “bit” and the upper-case “B” refers to “byte.” Both are units of data, with 8 bits equal to 1 byte. 1 megabit denotes 1,000,000 bits, and 1 megabyte denotes 1,000,000 bytes.
Mbps stands for Megabits per second. MBps stands Megabytes per second. The two terms are similar, but Mbps is used to specify Internet connection speeds, whereas MBps is used to specify how much of a file is downloaded/uploaded per second.
What Internet speeds do you need for your home?
When shopping for Internet service, it is important to understand Mbps and what speeds are necessary for your current or desired Internet activity. Check out what you can do with different Mbps:
Basic Internet use: .5 to 3 Mbps
sending emails
browsing the web
downloading texts such as e-books
Moderate Internet use: 6 to 18 Mbps
downloading an SD video
downloading mp3 songs
streaming short SD videos
connecting 2-3 devices at once
Heavy Internet use: 25+ Mbps
streaming SD or HD shows and movies
online gaming
downloading multiple songs at once
connecting numerous devices at once
Consider what you like to do online, what you want to do online, and how many people/devices will be using the Internet. You may find that choosing the cheapest plan with a lower Mbps may not give you the speeds you want, or you could discover a higher and costlier Mbps gives you more speed than you need. Identifying the best Mbps range for your home is vital to choosing the right plan.
In computer lingo, the lower-case “b” refers to “bit” and the upper-case “B” refers to “byte.” Both are units of data, with 8 bits equal to 1 byte. 1 megabit denotes 1,000,000 bits, and 1 megabyte denotes 1,000,000 bytes.
Mbps stands for Megabits per second. MBps stands Megabytes per second. The two terms are similar, but Mbps is used to specify Internet connection speeds, whereas MBps is used to specify how much of a file is downloaded/uploaded per second.
What Internet speeds do you need for your home?
When shopping for Internet service, it is important to understand Mbps and what speeds are necessary for your current or desired Internet activity. Check out what you can do with different Mbps:
Basic Internet use: .5 to 3 Mbps
sending emails
browsing the web
downloading texts such as e-books
Moderate Internet use: 6 to 18 Mbps
downloading an SD video
downloading mp3 songs
streaming short SD videos
connecting 2-3 devices at once
Heavy Internet use: 25+ Mbps
streaming SD or HD shows and movies
online gaming
downloading multiple songs at once
connecting numerous devices at once
Consider what you like to do online, what you want to do online, and how many people/devices will be using the Internet. You may find that choosing the cheapest plan with a lower Mbps may not give you the speeds you want, or you could discover a higher and costlier Mbps gives you more speed than you need. Identifying the best Mbps range for your home is vital to choosing the right plan.
