[KNOWLEDGE BASE] [MODEMS]
| HOW ARE MODEM SPEEDS MEASURED? | |
Modems are rated in bps (Bits Per Second). This is sometimes called the Baud rate. Baud rate actually means something else and modems never actually communicate at more than 2400 Baud. Most people don't know this and use the word inappropriately. In theory, a 28.8k modem transmits at 28,800 bits per second. While in most computer applications 8 bits make a byte, with modems it is generally 10 bits that make a byte. So a 28.8k modem will transmit on average 2.8 kilobytes of information every second. The actual bytes per second is sometimes called the CPS rate. To put some of this into perspective as to how fast modems are talking, the fastest human can speak about 300 words per minute. A 14.4k modem speaks about 300 words per second over a standard telephone line. |
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