Question

I want to answer 1 second, since all that the 1 Gbps link will do is transfer up to 1 billion bits per second which will not necessarily increase the time that it will take to transmit. I’m pretty sure I’m wrong so can someone correct me?

Also, How long (in meters) will it take that bit to transfer where the propagation velocity is 2.3×10^8 meters per second.

I’m a little confused on that last question, so if someone could help clarify, that would be great. THANKS!

Answer 1

In this case you can translate “transmit” as “put onto the wire”; “transmission speed” refers to bandwidth. So a link that can transfer 1 billion bits per second will only take X time to transfer a single bit.

This is totally irrespective of the propagation delay for the link, which is called latency; obviously a Gbps point to point link where the other end is 1m away is just as fast as a similar link where the other is 100km away, although the first bit transmitted will take longer to reach the other end in the latter case. It is also possible for a Gbps link to have the same latency as a 56kbps modem connection, although the bandwidth is obviously different.

The last question is not really clear; it gives a velocity and asks for a distance, which obviously cannot be calculated unless we also know the time. Perhaps this is alluded to by contextual information that did not translate well into your question?