Dial-Up and Broadband Speed Comparison Chart
 Connection type and
or line type.

Data transfer rate comparison, which is usually not guaranteed
by the provider.
Times faster
than a 56.6K
dial-up modem
++Theoretical Max: bps
 (bits per second)
Description
Download in:
bits /sec.
Upload in:
bits /sec.
Times faster
14.4K Modem V.32bis
14,400
14,400
0
28.8K Modem V.34
28,800
28,800
0
33.6K Modem V.34+
33,600
33,600
0
56.6K Modem V.90, USR x2
*53,000
33,600
0
56.6K Modem K56Flex
*53,000
40,000
0
56.6K Modem V.92
*53,000
48,000
0
Basic High Speed Internet
128,000
56,000
2.42
Basic ADSL
256,000
128,000
4.83
Business ADSL
512,000
256,000
9.66
Enhanced Business ADSL
768,000
384,000
14.49
Executive Business ADSL
1,544,000
512,000
29.13
SDSL
1,544,000
1,544,000
29.13


Table Notes

The 56.6K modem has been the standard modem since 1998.
The math for calculating times faster than a 56.6K modem for example would be:
3 Mbps or 3,000,000 / 53,000 = 56.6 times faster. An easier way to calculate the
times faster is to simply multiply 18.86 x every 1 Mbps. So 18.86 x 4 Mbps = 75.4

*FCC limited 56.6K modems to an actual 53K download maximum in 1996.
The V.90 technology came out it 1998 and V.92 came along later in 2000.

**Average speeds will vary dependent upon: user hardware, data line condition,
 ISP hardware, Internet traffic, interconnecting server loads, and target server load.
Average download times are usually longer due to general server loads and traffic.

++ Theoretical max only exists when all variables and conditions are aligned. Very few
people, even with the best of hardware and line conditions, rarely achieve this max. i.e. the
typical 56.6K modem download usually falls into the average range of 42K to 52K bits/sec.
or 5.1 KB/sec. to 6.3 KB/sec. when downloading a file size of 1MB or more.


Telecommunication Measurement Guide
Note: The telecommunication industry uses the measurement system for data
rate and does not use the same system as in binary computing for storage. Data
transmission includes a start/stop bit ahead and behind the 8 characters, therefore
increments of 10 are used rather than the computing field use in powers of two.
Hence, a kilobit is equal to 1,000 bits and not 1,024 bits.
Mbps is equal to 1,000,000 bits per second not 1,048,576 bits per second.

bit= Smallest unit with either the binary digit value of 0 or 1.
bps= bits per second - data amount to pass a single point/sec.
Kbps= kilobits per second =1,000 (one thousand) bits per second
Mbps = megabits per second =1,000,000 (one million) bits per second
Gbps = gigabits per second = 1,000,000,000 (one billion) bits per second
Tbps = tera bits per second = 1,000,000,000,000 (one trillion) bits per second

Computer File Size Measurement Guide
B = byte is equal to 8 bits
KB = kilobyte is equal to 1,024 bytes or 8,192 bits
MB = megabyte is equal to 1,024 kilobytes or 8,388,608 bits
5 MB = 5 megabytes is equal to 5,120 kilobytes or 41,943,040 bits



.