Definition
A unit of data transfer speed equal to 1,000 bits of digital information per second. Used to describe the rate at which data is sent or received over a communication link, such as a satellite weather datalink or aviation data service.
Plain English
A measure of how fast digital information moves. The higher the number, the faster the data arrives.
Context Anchor
Seen in aircraft equipment, cockpit displays, weather-data systems, and communication-device specifications when they describe how fast digital information is moving.
Derivation
‘Kilo’ comes from the Greek for ‘thousand.’ A ‘bit’ is the smallest unit of digital information (a 0 or a 1). So ‘kilobits per second’ literally means ‘thousands of bits each second’ — a way of describing how quickly digital data flows.
Why Pilots Care
Datalink speed affects how quickly weather, traffic, and other information updates in the cockpit. Slower links mean longer waits for refreshed data.
Intuition Check
Do not confuse Kbps with KBps. Kbps means kilobits per second; KBps means kilobytes per second, and a byte is 8 bits.
Example Sentence 1
The onboard weather datalink receives updates at roughly 100 Kbps.
Example Sentence 2
A higher Kbps rate allows map data to reach the cockpit faster.