Why is file size measured in megabytes but internet speed measured in megabits?
In: Technology
Other than the marketing angle, it does have a lot of sense for hardware engineers.
File size typically refers to storage and storage is organized in terms of bytes because the data moves mostly in parallel data lines that are byte or multiple byte sizes. From the 70’s onward, a byte was almost universally 8 bits “wide”. The storage elements are also organized that way (RAM, HDD etc) from a hardware perspective. Typically the hardware cannot address a bit, the engineers designed their address logic around byte wide “chunks”.
Data transmission especially serial transmission (ethernet and pretty much all internet connections) are sent bit-wise. From an engineering perspective, the limiting factor is how quickly the bits can be processed, which gives the bandwidth. The protocol will add their own “stuff” like framing bits etc but to the hardware layer, all of that are counted as a “bit” from a timing perspective.
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