A letter from the CEO

Mon Nov 23 07:09:44 UTC 2020

On Sun, Nov 22, 2020 at 10:37 PM Carsten Bormann <cabo at tzi.org> wrote:
> On 2020-11-20, at 23:18, 6x7 Networks - Lady Benjamin, CEO <ben at 6by7.net> wrote:
> > 8tbps (8 terrabits per second).
> I don’t expect the majority of nanog people to know the intended data rate would properly be notated as 8 Tbit/s, but a space after the number, an upper case T, and not confusing Tera (SI prefix for 1 Trillion) with Terra (earth), is about the minimum I would expect from a technical person.

Hi Carsten,

You must be talking the "new" comm-speak because "bps" has been the
conventional abbreviation for "bits per second" since at least the
modem days of the 1980s with the "thousands" modifier typically
offered lower case so as not to distract from or be confused with the
digits: kbps, mbps, gbps, tbps. The lack of a space between the digits
and letters also follows convention.

There's nothing wrong with saying "8 Tbit/s" instead. It's just as
clear and no one sensible cares. But complaining about others using
the normal convention frankly makes you look like a doofus.

Regards,
Bill Herrin