Gbps

Gbps is an abbreviation for gigabits per second, a unit of data transfer rate used to quantify the speed of digital networks and communication links. One gigabit per second equals 1,000,000,000 bits per second (10^9). Because there are eight bits in a byte, 1 Gbps corresponds to about 125 megabytes per second of raw data, absent protocol overhead.

Gbps is commonly used to describe network bandwidth in both local area networks and wide area networks, including Internet service connections, enterprise LANs, and storage networks. It contrasts with gigabytes per second (GB/s), a unit of data transfer capacity often used for storage devices, since GB/s measures bytes while Gbps measures bits.

In Ethernet, 1 Gbps Ethernet (IEEE 802.3 and 1000BASE-T) and higher-speed variants such as 2.5GBASE-T, 5GBASE-T, and 10GBASE-T are common. Higher-end networks employ 40GBASE and 100GBASE technologies, with ongoing development toward faster links. Wireless networks may offer aggregate throughput that approaches several gigabits per second in ideal conditions, but actual user rates are typically lower due to protocol overhead and radio interference.

Speeds labeled in Gbps are nominal maximums; real-world performance depends on hardware, network topology, and overhead. When evaluating Internet plans or network equipment, it is important to consider sustained throughput, latency, and overhead rather than nominal Gbps values alone.