Kilobit
Encyclopedia : K : KI : KIL : Kilobit
| Quantities of bits | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SI prefix (rare binary meaning) | Binary prefix standards from IEC 60027-2 | ||||
| Name | Symbol | Quantity | Name | Symbol | Quantity |
| kilobit | kb | 103 (210) | kibibit | Kibit | 210 |
| megabit | Mb | 106 (220) | mebibit | Mibit | 220 |
| gigabit | Gb | 109 (230) | gibibit | Gibit | 230 |
| terabit | Tb | 1012 (240) | tebibit | Tibit | 240 |
| petabit | Pb | 1015 (250) | pebibit | Pibit | 250 |
| exabit | Eb | 1018 (260) | exbibit | Eibit | 260 |
| zettabit | Zb | 1021 (270) | zebibit | Zibit | 270 |
| yottabit | Yb | 1024 (280) | yobibit | Yibit | 280 |
A kilobit is a unit of information, abbreviated kbit, sometimes also kb.
The standard definition is 1 kilobit = 103 = 1,000 bits. In the context of storage-memory and address-space sizes, the alternative binary definition of 210 = 1,024 bits is occasionally used (see Binary prefix), although this usage is ambiguous.
Kilobits are commonly used to express digital communication speeds, e.g. a 56 kbit/s PSTN or 512 kbit/s broadband Internet connection. In the context of telecommunication transmission speeds, the decimal definition 1 kbit = 1000 bit is used uniformly.
The kilobit is closely related to the kibibit, which is unambiguously equal to 210 = 1,024 bits.
Kilobit (abbreviated to kb with a lower case b) is not to be confused with the term kilobyte (abbreviated to kB with an upper case b).
See also
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