Abbreviating "megabits per second" - compilation of Email discussion Initial comment on P802/D21 (Overview and Architecture) Source: Pat Thaler >>1.2 pg 5 line 26 and elsewhere: The abbreviation for >>megabits per second should be Mb/s not Mbit/s. This is what >>the measurements gurus told us when we wrote 802.12. From: Geoff_Thompson@BayNetworks.COM (Geoff Thompson) To: pat@hprnd.rose.hp.com Cc: p8021@nic.hep.net Subject: Re: O&A Ballot Date: 03 Nov 1995 17:36:11 GMT Pat- I believe that Mbit/s is the ISO required abbreviation and Mb/s is the IEEE required abbreviation. we should get this solved once and for all within 802 and then, forever more, be consistent within 802 From: Pat Thaler Subject: Re: O&A Ballot To: Geoff_Thompson@BayNetworks.COM Date: Fri, 03 Nov 1995 11:56:46 PST Cc: p8021@nic.hep.net Geoff, I thought it was the other way around, though I don't have the material to check it at hand. Isn't it that Mb/s is not confusing in the ISO world because they use octets, not bytes? 802.3 and 802.12 currently are using Mb/s, that's why I made the comment. Kristen and Valerie, can you help us out here? In any case, this was an editorial comment and it could be sorted out any time between now and preparation of the document for publication. From: Geoff_Thompson@BayNetworks.COM (Geoff Thompson) To: pat@hprnd.rose.hp.com Cc: p8021@nic.hep.net, k.dittmann@ieee.org, v.zelenty@ieee.org Subject: Re: Re: O&A Ballot Date: 03 Nov 1995 22:20:12 GMT Pat- We've been doing it the IEEE way (Mb/s) & slipping it through ISO (I have had this called to my attention by Jacques in the past) You can refer to ISO/IEC 11801 page 83 for an example of an ISO/IEC standard that is not "polluted" by the influence of IEEE Geoff From: Pat Thaler Subject: Re: Re: O&A Ballot To: Geoff_Thompson@BayNetworks.COM Date: Fri, 03 Nov 1995 18:09:31 PST Cc: p8021@nic.hep.net, k.dittmann@ieee.org, v.zelenty@ieee.org Geoff- I wish this had been pointed out earlier. I actually prefer Mbit/s since it is unambiguous. Mb/s is subject to sometimes being misinterpreted as Mbyte/s by the uninitiated. Pat From: "Hayes, Victor" To: Geoff_Thompson@baynetworks.com, pat@hprnd.rose.hp.com Cc: p8021@nic.hep.net Subject: Re: O&A Ballot Date: Sat, 04 Nov 95 08:00:00 PST ISO is committed to the SI system of units (so is the IEEE to my recollection). The small b is not a unit supported by the SI system and should therefore NOT be used as abbreviation. In this case you should use bit. So the unit we are working with is indeed Mbit/s. Vic From: Pat Thaler Subject: Re: O&A Ballot To: VHAYES@wcnd.utrecht.NCR.COM (Hayes, Victor) Date: Mon, 13 Nov 1995 8:53:10 PST Cc: Geoff_Thompson@baynetworks.com, p8021@nic.hep.net Vic and the rest of the Exec, IEEE's commitment to the SI system of units apparently does not keep them from choosing to add their own abbreviations. Kristen tells me that the IEEE's abbreviation for Mbit/s is Mb/s and the coordination for units will produce an objection to Mbit/s. However, I agree that the ISO/IEC position is more appropriate. Mbit/s is unambiguous. Therefore, I would like 802 to come to a decision that we will use Mbit/s. If that gets an objection during coordination, we should respond that we need to be in line with the international use of the units. This does leave us with a number of existing standards that use Mb/s. In the past, JTC-1 balloting does not seem to have caught this error so it appears in 8802 standards. Should we instruct the IEEE editors to change it to Mbit/s when new editions are prepared? Pat Thaler From: I802%mimi@magic.itg.ti.com Date: Mon, 13 Nov 95 12:47:56 CST To: p8021@nic.hep.net Subject: Re: O&A Ballot From: Jim Carlo Subject: Mbit/s The latest ISO/IEC 8802-5:1995 will be published with Mbit/s notation and we do not use Mb/s in our document. Regards, Jim Carlo From: VHAYES@wcnd.Utrecht.NCR.COM ("Hayes, Victor") To: pat@hprnd.rose.hp.com (Pat Thaler) Cc: Geoff_Thompson@baynetworks.com (Geoff_Thompson), p8021@nic.hep.net (p8021) Subject: Re: O&A Ballot Date: Tue, 14 Nov 95 11:29:00 PST I looked in the ISO catalogue and found only bit/s used in the area of the PHY layer, Private Integrated Service Networking and LAN: ISO 2110:1989 IT - DC - 25 pole DTE/DCE connector ...... rates above 20 000 bit/s ISO/IEC 11574:1994 IT - TIES - Private Integrated Service Networking - Circuit-mode 64 kbit/s bearer services - .... IEC/TR 907:1989 LANs CSMA/CD 10 Mbit/s baseband planning and installation guide. I also know that the ITU is consistently using bit/s, kbit/s and Mbit/s. Therefore, I support a motion to change the IEEE coordination for units. Vic