Bit Rate

In telecommunications and computing, bit rate (sometimes written bitrate or as a variable R) is the number of bits that are conveyed or processed per unit of time.

The bit rate is quantified using the bits per second (bit/s) unit, often in conjunction with an SI prefix such as kilo- (kbit/s), mega- (Mbit/s), giga- (Gbit/s) or tera- (Tbit/s). Note that, although the IEC 60027-2 standard defines a convention for computer data symbols in base two exponents for binary multiples, when describing a bit rate, the SI convention of base ten exponents for decimal multiples is traditionally used. A bit rate of 1 kbit/s is equivalent to 1,000 (103) bits per second, not 1,024 (210) bits per second. Uppercase K as in Kbit/s should also never be used.

The formal abbreviation for "bits per second" is "bit/s" (not "bits/s", see writing style for SI units). In less formal contexts the abbreviations "b/s" or "bps" are sometimes used, though this risks confusion with "bytes per second" ("B/s", "Bps"), and the use of the abbreviation ps is also inconsistent with the SI symbol for picosecond.

1 Byte/s (B/s) corresponds to 8 bit/s (bit/s).