Basic megabit/megabyte question

Right now, my wireless connection is at "Low", 11 mbps. We are usually at
"Good", around 24 mbps.

Does 11 mbps translate to 1.375 mBps (8 bit byte)? Does 24 mbps translate
to 3 mBps?

Basically, trying to figure out if we should go to a 1 mB service or 3 mB
service with Charter (currently on an old 384 kB service).

Thanks.

CJ

CJ wrote:
> Right now, my wireless connection is at "Low", 11 mbps. We are
> usually at "Good", around 24 mbps.
>
> Does 11 mbps translate to 1.375 mBps (8 bit byte)? Does 24 mbps
> translate to 3 mBps?
>
> Basically, trying to figure out if we should go to a 1 mB service or
> 3 mB service with Charter (currently on an old 384 kB service).
>
> Thanks.
>
> CJ

My understanding is that a small b indicates bits, and a capital B indicates
bytes. So the above should be correct...

For a data oriented chart of both Bits and Bytes (and several other
conversions/definitions) check out
http://www.wu.ece.ufl.edu/links/data...mentChart.html

On Sat, 5 Feb 2005 10:04:31 -0800, in alt.internet.wireless , "CJ"
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>Right now, my wireless connection is at "Low", 11 mbps. We are usually at
>"Good", around 24 mbps.

One thing to note is that in SI abbreviations a small emm is milli. You
want a big Emm, which is mega. :-)

>Does 11 mbps translate to 1.375 mBps (8 bit byte)? Does 24 mbps translate
>to 3 mBps?

Divide by something between eight and ten, to allow for checksums, parity
etc. And expect data throughput to be about 70% of the in-air bandwidth,
due to protocol headers etc.

>Basically, trying to figure out if we should go to a 1 mB service or 3 mB
>service with Charter (currently on an old 384 kB service).

Are you sure the service its 1Megabyte, not one megabit? Very few ISPs
offer megabyte-rated services except via leased line, and then you're into
$$$.
--
Mark McIntyre
CLC FAQ <http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/C-faq/top.html>
CLC readme: <http://www.ungerhu.com/jxh/clc.welcome.txt>

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"Peter Pan" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
news:(E-Mail Removed):

> CJ wrote:
>> Right now, my wireless connection is at "Low", 11 mbps. We are
>> usually at "Good", around 24 mbps.
>>
>> Does 11 mbps translate to 1.375 mBps (8 bit byte)? Does 24 mbps
>> translate to 3 mBps?
>>
>> Basically, trying to figure out if we should go to a 1 mB service
>> or 3 mB service with Charter (currently on an old 384 kB
>> service).
>>
>> Thanks.
>>
>> CJ
>
> My understanding is that a small b indicates bits, and a capital B
> indicates bytes. So the above should be correct...
>
> For a data oriented chart of both Bits and Bytes (and several
> other conversions/definitions) check out
> http://www.wu.ece.ufl.edu/links/data...mentChart.html

<pedant mode>
Aaaaaargh!

NO - and the link above merely compounds the errors. It is *full* of
inaccuracies.

Units and their abbeviations are defined in SI units. Have a look
here:
<http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/>

There is *no* standard abbreviation for bit
There is *no* standard abbreviation for byte
Indeed, I'm not even sure if there is a standard for how many bits
there are in a byte, although of course 8 is usual...

Prefixes:
m = milli = 10**-3
k = kilo = 10**3
M = mega = 10**6
G = giga = 10**9

Units:
s = second

There is *no* abbreviation for 'per'.

Correct:
1 Mbit/s = 1 megabit per second
1 Mbyte/s = 1 megabyte per second

WRONG:
1 mbps - simply wrong, and a source of confusion
1 MBps - ditto

There is always a risk of confusion when incorrection or inaccurate
abbrevaitions are used, as in this case. There is always a temptation
to abbreviate, but it simply leads to confusion.

So, to answer the question:

11 mbps is an incorrect abbreviation for 11 Mbit/s, the highest speed
allowed by the IEEE 802.11b standard, and also a intermediate step-
down speed allowed by the IEEE 802.11g standard.

24 mbps is an incorrect abbreviation for 24 Mbit/s, an intermediate
step-down speed allowed by IEEE 802.11g.

11 Mbit/s = 1.375 Mbyte/s
24 Mbit/s = 3 Mbyte/s

The term 'bps' is (of course!) not used in IEEE 802.11, but does
erroneously appear in one place in IEEE 802.11b where it cross-refers
to IEEE 802.11 speeds. It is not used in IEEE 802.11g.

</pedant mode>

Slightly more seriously, confusion could be easily avoided by
sticking to 'proper' abbreviations and not making them up as we go
along. I blame the marketing people...

If the price is reasonable, go with the 3 Mbit/s service - this will
be more responsive if you have several machines on your network, or
if you do a lot of downloading. The 1 Mbit/s service will probably
also be fine for most purposes.

Note that the line speed is a limiting factor. Your local wireless
network speeds are very much faster and do not affect Internet
speeds, which are constrained by your wide area connection.

Hope this helps

--

Richard Perkin
To email me, change the AT in the address below
richard.perkinATmyrealbox.com

It's is not, it isn't ain't, and it's it's, not its, if you mean it
is. If you don't, it's its. Then too, it's hers. It isn't her's.
It isn't our's either. It's ours, and likewise yours and theirs.
-- Oxford University Press, Edpress News

On Sat, 5 Feb 2005 10:04:31 -0800, "CJ" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>Right now, my wireless connection is at "Low", 11 mbps. We are usually at
>"Good", around 24 mbps.
>
>Does 11 mbps translate to 1.375 mBps (8 bit byte)? Does 24 mbps translate
>to 3 mBps?
>
>Basically, trying to figure out if we should go to a 1 mB service or 3 mB
>service with Charter (currently on an old 384 kB service).

11th commandment. Thou shalt not abrev.

Others have answered your question about abreviations. I'll answer
the question that I think you meant to ask, which is how fast can you
move data at the various speeds.

A 24Mbit/sec OFDM wireless association or connection, will yield about
12Mbits/sec TCP thruput after dealing with all the overhead, sliding
windows, 802.3 enacapsulation, timing delays, and management frames.
An 11Mbit/sec CCK connection will yield about 4-5.5Mbits/sec thruput.

Both wireless speeds are faster than your 1.5 or 3Mbit/sec DSL
service, which also has overhead an inefficiencies. You'll get about
1.2Mbits/sec thruput with 1500/256Kbits/sec service, and about
2.2Mbits/sec thruput with 3000/384Kbits/sec service.

Personally, I would get the 3Mbit/sec service because it usually
offers higher upload speeds, which is important if you're running
servers, playing VoIP, or doing the VPN thing.

--
Jeff Liebermann (E-Mail Removed)
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 AE6KS 831-336-2558

"CJ" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:_W7Nd.10082$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Right now, my wireless connection is at "Low", 11 mbps. We are usually at
> "Good", around 24 mbps.
>
> Does 11 mbps translate to 1.375 mBps (8 bit byte)? Does 24 mbps translate
> to 3 mBps?
>
> Basically, trying to figure out if we should go to a 1 mB service or 3 mB
> service with Charter (currently on an old 384 kB service).
>
> Thanks.
>
> CJ
>

Charter doesn't have megabyte service, they have megabit service. Any
wireless will be faster.

Tom

Tom Scales <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> Charter doesn't have megabyte service, they have megabit service. Any
> wireless will be faster.

Go, Tom! Cut to the chase!
After reading the pedantic posts that actually contained the same answer,
somewhere, I think, maybe...

I have Mediacom Cable. "Download Speeds up to 3MBps."
My 802.11b card did the same speed downloads as my wired 100BaseT.
The cable is the slow part.

Today, www.dslreports.com/stest for my cable-wireless at 36 Mbps (802.11g)
Your download speed : 1426846 bps, or 1393 kbps.
A 174.1 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 247511 bps, or 241 kbps.

I can transfer at about 20Mbps between my laptop and a wired computer.
The cable is the slow part.

--
---
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8,-122.5

<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:cu3i4b$pum$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Tom Scales <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>> Charter doesn't have megabyte service, they have megabit service. Any
>> wireless will be faster.
>
> Go, Tom! Cut to the chase!
> After reading the pedantic posts that actually contained the same answer,
> somewhere, I think, maybe...
>
> I have Mediacom Cable. "Download Speeds up to 3MBps."
> My 802.11b card did the same speed downloads as my wired 100BaseT.
> The cable is the slow part.
>
> Today, www.dslreports.com/stest for my cable-wireless at 36 Mbps (802.11g)
> Your download speed : 1426846 bps, or 1393 kbps.
> A 174.1 KB/sec transfer rate.
> Your upload speed : 247511 bps, or 241 kbps.
>
> I can transfer at about 20Mbps between my laptop and a wired computer.
> The cable is the slow part.
>
> --
> ---
> Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8,-122.5
>

Fastest I've used was RoadRunner in 1998. There were only 500 of us in the
beta in Austin. We saw 5-6mbps (NOT Mbps). Anyone advertising with a BIG M
is manipulating it.

"Tom Scales" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in news:w_eNd.17151
$(E-Mail Removed):

> We saw 5-6mbps (NOT Mbps)

5-6 millibits per second is pretty slow, whereas 5-6 megabits per
second is fairly respectable.

Maybe you've mixed up m/M versus b/B ?

On 6 Feb 2005 02:36:07 GMT, in alt.internet.wireless , Euan Kerr
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>"Tom Scales" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in news:w_eNd.17151
>$(E-Mail Removed):
>
>> We saw 5-6mbps (NOT Mbps)
>
>5-6 millibits per second is pretty slow, whereas 5-6 megabits per
>second is fairly respectable.
>
>Maybe you've mixed up m/M versus b/B ?

One has to assume he meant Mbps vs MBps.
--
Mark McIntyre
CLC FAQ <http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/C-faq/top.html>
CLC readme: <http://www.ungerhu.com/jxh/clc.welcome.txt>