BPS

BPS stand for bits per second.  It really tells us how fast data can be transmitted.  For example, we might have heard that some phone line internet services can provide data rates of 56 Kbps.  The "k" in this case stands for 1000.  So, the internet and phone services are telling us that they can transmit 56,000 bps or 56,000 bits per second.

One common confusion is to not confuse bits with bytes.   Many computer specifications are in terms of bytes.  A bit (bps) is the smallest amount of data possible.  A byte is a total of 8 bits - enough information in general to determine a character, a letter of the alphabet, or a number.  So, if one hears the term 100 bytes, it could mean that that is enough information to contain 100 characters of the alphabet (asci characters) - enough for a good text message of 100 letters.  However, if one talks about 100 bits instead of bytes, then it is a factor of 8 less information, or enough for just a little more than 12 characters of the alphabet - which is about enough for a title of a text message.