Kilobytes per second (KBps) is a unit of data transfer rate that measures the amount of data transmitted or processed per second, expressed in kilobytes. A kilobyte equals 1,024 bytes, and KBps quantifies data movement in terms of these blocks. This unit is commonly used in older internet connections, file transfers, and streaming applications. For instance, early dial-up connections operated at speeds measured in KBps, where a 56 Kbps connection translated to roughly 7 KBps of actual download speed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilobyte
The distinction between KBps and Kbps (kilobits per second) is important when interpreting data rates. While Kbps is used to express networking speeds, KBps focuses on file and data transfer rates. For example, a connection rated at 1,024 Kbps achieves a transfer speed of approximately 128 KBps due to the 8-to-1 ratio between bits and bytes. This distinction helps users better understand the actual speed they experience during activities like downloading files or streaming videos.
https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/definition/kilobytes-per-second-KBps
Although KBps is less commonly used in modern high-speed systems, it remains relevant for specific applications like legacy systems, low-bandwidth networks, and audio streaming. Services like Internet radio often provide audio streams measured in KBps, balancing quality and bandwidth requirements. As technologies evolve and speeds increase, KBps has been largely replaced by larger units like MBps and GBps, reflecting the growing demands of digital communication.