# What’s the difference between Mbps and MBps?   (Ever wondered?)



## kburra (Jun 15, 2020)

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.


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## MarciKS (Jun 16, 2020)

Thanks for this info.


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## kburra (Jun 16, 2020)

MarciKS said:


> Thanks for this info.


And thank you for reply.


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## Em in Ohio (Jun 16, 2020)

"Have you come across “Mbps” and “MBps” and wondered what, if any, difference there is between the two?"  I have seen them both and thought it was just typo errors!  Thanks for this great information!


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## Don M. (Jun 16, 2020)

I can remember when I first started using a PC, and the speed was 7.2KBS.  Then there was a quantum leap to 14.4Kbs service.  Now, anything below 10MBS barely suffices.  We now get 100mbs service, and with this corona virus, and a lot of people working from home, our provider has upped the speed to 250Mbs...both up and download, at no extra charge.  I sometimes watch some TV shows I missed, online, virtually commercial free, and it's almost better than watching normal TV.


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## Lewkat (Jun 16, 2020)

There are so many computer acronyms which I go to all the trouble of either researching or pestering my son for their meaning and promptly forget what I've learned.  Thus, while I found your info interesting, I'll no doubt forget what it meant by tomorrow a.m.


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## Keesha (Jun 16, 2020)

Ones got a capital B and the other doesn’t.


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## Mike (Jun 17, 2020)

Thank once again kburra for some excellent information.

Mike.


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## kburra (Jun 17, 2020)

Mike said:


> Thank once again kburra for some excellent information.
> 
> Mike.


You`re welcome Mike, I think you are referring to the regedit discussion?but that has mysteriously _Disappeared_ be good if admin advised why they take something down,even if in a private PM!


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## Mike (Jun 17, 2020)

How many bits are in a letter of the alphabet, are
they all the same size or do they differ, in the same
fant, I realise that fonts will cause a difference.

I have never had a reply to how we measure "Usage",
everything is so different that there is no chart that
explains images sizes into bytes I suppose that colour
causes an increase in size, the same for videos.

Mike.


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## Mike (Jun 17, 2020)

kburra said:


> You`re welcome Mike, I think you are referring to the regedit discussion?but that has mysteriously _Disappeared_ be good if admin advised why they take something down,even if in a private PM!


kburra, the regedit bit is still there, further down the page,
here is the link. https://www.seniorforums.com/threads/installers-hall-of-shame.50000/

Mike.


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## kburra (Jun 17, 2020)

Mike said:


> kburra, the regedit bit is still there, further down the page,
> here is the link. https://www.seniorforums.com/threads/installers-hall-of-shame.50000/
> 
> Mike.


Thanks Mike ,my mistake, apologies to Admin
Incidentally and off subject ,when returned to UK in 1979 (Holiday) went to an Antique fair in Croydon.


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## Mike (Jun 18, 2020)

I hope that you enjoyed the day kburra, but you
would not recognise the place now without a
picture, there are lots of high rise offices and they
are still building more, around 1,500 flats near the
East Croydon Station.

There used to be some very pricey antiques in the
museum, till the Council decided that they needed
money. The pieces were valued at £9Million, but
needless to say they got no where near that figure,
they got less than £1M.

Incompetence is being polite about them.

Mike.


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