bps - Bits Per Second

In data communications, "bps" is the common measurement unit of data rate for any networking device like a modem. The bits per second or the Bit Rate is the number of bits sent or received in 1 second. The bit rate is usually represented with the symbol "bit/s".

If the modem is rated to transfer data at 56 bps, it means a maximum of 56 bits could be transmitted every second. The higher the value of "bps",  the lesser will be the download or the upload time. Modern hardware devices support very large bit rates which are normally measured in kbps or  Mbps.

1 kbps equals 1000 bits sent per second, whereas 1 Mbps equals 1 million bytes sent per second.