Gigabit per second (Gbps) - Unit Information & Conversion

Definition

A gigabit per second (Gbps or Gbit/s) is a unit of data transfer rate equal to 1,000,000,000 bits per second, 1,000 megabits per second, or 1 million kilobits per second. It uses the standard SI prefix "giga-" (G), which represents a factor of 109 or one billion.

History

Gigabit per second speeds became prominent with the development of Gigabit Ethernet standards (like 1000BASE-T) in the late 1990s and early 2000s, significantly increasing local network speeds. The proliferation of fiber optic internet connections (FTTH - Fiber to the Home) further established Gbps as a common measure for high-speed internet access for consumers and businesses. Like its predecessors (kbps, Mbps), the prefix "giga-" in data transfer rates consistently refers to the decimal value (1,000,000,000), maintaining clarity compared to the binary/decimal ambiguity sometimes found in data storage units (GB vs GiB).

Common Uses

Gigabits per second (Gbps) is used to measure very high data transfer rates:

• High-Speed Internet: Fiber optic internet plans commonly offer speeds of 1 Gbps or higher.
• Local Area Network (LAN) Backbones: Used for high-traffic links within corporate networks or data centers.
• Data Center Networking: Standard for server-to-server communication and connections to storage area networks (SANs).
• Network Switches and Routers: High-performance network hardware often has ports rated in Gbps (e.g., 1 Gbps, 10 Gbps, 40 Gbps, 100 Gbps).
• High-Definition Video Transfer: Transferring large video files or streaming multiple high-resolution video streams.

Unit FAQs

How many bits per second (bps) are in a gigabit per second (Gbps)?

There are exactly 1,000,000,000 bits per second (bps) in 1 gigabit per second (Gbps). This follows the standard SI definition of the prefix 'giga-'.

How many megabits per second (Mbps) are in a gigabit per second (Gbps)?

There are exactly 1,000 megabits per second (Mbps) in 1 gigabit per second (Gbps).

What is the difference between Gbps (gigabits per second) and GB/s (Gigabytes per second)?

These units measure data transfer rate differently:

• Gbps (gigabits per second): Measures the rate in bits. Standard for advertising network speeds, especially high-speed internet and network hardware capabilities.
• GB/s (Gigabytes per second): Measures the rate in bytes. Often used to describe the throughput of very high-speed interfaces like PCIe buses, fast SSDs, or high-performance computing interconnects.

Since 1 byte = 8 bits: 1 GB/s = 8 Gbps Therefore, a speed expressed in GB/s is 8 times faster than the same number expressed in Gbps. For example, a network speed of 10 Gbps has a theoretical maximum transfer rate of 1.25 GB/s (10 / 8 = 1.25).

Is Gbps related to Gibibits (Gib)?

While both use the 'giga'/'gibi' scale, they differ significantly:

• Gbps (Gigabit per second): A rate based on decimal gigabits (1 Gb = 109 bits = 1,000,000,000 bits). Used for data transfer speeds.
• Gib (Gibibit): A unit of data storage based on binary prefixes (1 Gib = 230 bits = 1,073,741,824 bits). Used for precise memory/storage measurement. A "Gibibit per second" (Gibps) is not a standard unit for data transfer rates, which consistently use decimal prefixes.

Is Gbps based on 1,000,000,000 or 1,073,741,824 bits?

Gigabits per second (Gbps) is always based on the decimal prefix 'giga-', meaning 1,000,000,000 bits per second. Data transfer rates (bps, kbps, Mbps, Gbps, Tbps) consistently use the standard SI decimal prefixes (powers of 1000). The binary multiple (230 = 1,073,741,824) relates to data storage units like the Gibibyte (GiB) or Gibibit (Gib).