Data Communication Terminologies: Data Transfer Rates, Bandwidth, Baud, and Channel

Data Channel

A Data Channel is a medium used to carry data or information from one point to another point.

Baud

Baud is a unit of measurement for the information carrying capacity of a communication channel. The baud is synonymous with bps (bits per second).

1 Baud = 1 bps

Bandwidth

Bandwidth is the difference between the highest frequency signal component and the lowest frequency signal component. Frequency is measured in Hertz which is denoted by Hz. Hz can be also called Cycles per second.

1 Kilohertz (KHz) = 1000 Hz

1 Megahertz (MHz) = 1000 KHz

1 Gigahertz (GHz) = 1000 MHz

1 Terahertz (THz) = 1000 GHz

Data Transfer Rates

Data Transfer Rate is the speed with which data can transmit from one computer to another. This can be measure from, amount of data transferred per second by any device.

The data rate is measured in units of Bits per second (bps), Bytes per second (Bps), and Baud.

1 Byte = 8 bit

Bit based transfer rates

1000 bps = 1kbps

1000 kbps = 1 mbps

1000 mbps = 1 gbps

1000 gbps = 1 tbps

Byte based transfer rates

1000 Bps = 1 Kbps

1000 Kbps = 1 Mbps

1000 Mbps = 1 Gbps

1 Gbps = 1 Tbps