Bits vs. Bytes in Networking

Network speeds are measured in bits per second (bps) — ISPs advertise in Mbps. File sizes use bytes. Since 1 byte = 8 bits, a 100 Mbps connection downloads at roughly 12.5 MB/s. Always divide Mbps by 8 to get MBps (megabytes per second) for practical download-time estimates.

Download Time Calculator

  • Formula: time = size(MB) × 8 / speed(Mbps)
  • 1 GB on 100 Mbps ≈ 80 seconds
  • 1 GB on 10 Mbps ≈ ~13 minutes
  • 4K movie (50 GB) on 1 Gbps ≈ ~7 minutes

Speed Benchmarks

  • Dial-up modem: 56 Kbps
  • 3G mobile: 1–10 Mbps
  • 4G LTE: 10–150 Mbps
  • 5G: 100 Mbps – 10 Gbps
  • Home fibre: 100 Mbps – 1 Gbps
  • Streaming HD video: ~5 Mbps minimum