Calculate data rate, channel bandwidth or spectral efficiency with consistent units. Enter a justified efficiency or explore the ideal Shannon SNR bound; this does not convert data rate into carrier frequency.
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Mbps To Hz Formula
The following formula is used to convert Mbps to Hz.
Variables:
- B is the channel bandwidth (Hz), not carrier frequency
- Mbps is the data rate (megabits per second)
- eta is spectral efficiency in bit/s/Hz; it is not simply bits per modulation symbol
Convert Mbps to bit/s by multiplying by 1,000,000, then divide by spectral efficiency in bit/s/Hz. The rate and efficiency must use the same gross or net basis. Shannon mode uses eta = log2(1 + 10^(SNRdB/10)) for an ideal band-limited AWGN capacity bound; real links may require more bandwidth.
| Megabits per second (Mbps) | Bandwidth (MHz) @ 1 bit/s/Hz | Bandwidth (MHz) @ 2 bit/s/Hz | Bandwidth (MHz) @ 4 bit/s/Hz | Bandwidth (MHz) @ 6 bit/s/Hz | Bandwidth (MHz) @ 8 bit/s/Hz |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.5 | 0.500 | 0.250 | 0.125 | 0.083 | 0.063 |
| 1 | 1.000 | 0.500 | 0.250 | 0.167 | 0.125 |
| 2 | 2.000 | 1.000 | 0.500 | 0.333 | 0.250 |
| 5 | 5.000 | 2.500 | 1.250 | 0.833 | 0.625 |
| 10 | 10.000 | 5.000 | 2.500 | 1.667 | 1.250 |
| 20 | 20.000 | 10.000 | 5.000 | 3.333 | 2.500 |
| 25 | 25.000 | 12.500 | 6.250 | 4.167 | 3.125 |
| 30 | 30.000 | 15.000 | 7.500 | 5.000 | 3.750 |
| 40 | 40.000 | 20.000 | 10.000 | 6.667 | 5.000 |
| 50 | 50.000 | 25.000 | 12.500 | 8.333 | 6.250 |
| 75 | 75.000 | 37.500 | 18.750 | 12.500 | 9.375 |
| 100 | 100.000 | 50.000 | 25.000 | 16.667 | 12.500 |
| 150 | 150.000 | 75.000 | 37.500 | 25.000 | 18.750 |
| 200 | 200.000 | 100.000 | 50.000 | 33.333 | 25.000 |
| 250 | 250.000 | 125.000 | 62.500 | 41.667 | 31.250 |
| 300 | 300.000 | 150.000 | 75.000 | 50.000 | 37.500 |
| 400 | 400.000 | 200.000 | 100.000 | 66.667 | 50.000 |
| 500 | 500.000 | 250.000 | 125.000 | 83.333 | 62.500 |
| 750 | 750.000 | 375.000 | 187.500 | 125.000 | 93.750 |
| 1000 | 1000.000 | 500.000 | 250.000 | 166.667 | 125.000 |
| * Rounded to 3 decimals. Uses f = R / ฮท with R in Mbps and ฮท in bit/s/Hz; results shown in MHz. Note: 1 Mbps at 1 bit/s/Hz requires 1.000 MHz of bandwidth. | |||||
What is Frequency Bandwidth?
Channel bandwidth is a frequency interval, distinct from the carrier frequency. The relation R = eta ร B connects rate and bandwidth when spectral efficiency is known. Modulation bits per symbol alone do not determine net efficiency: symbol rate, pulse shaping, coding, interference and overhead also matter.
How to Calculate Frequency Bandwidth?
The following steps outline how to calculate the frequency bandwidth from Mbps.
- First, determine the data rate in Mbps.
- Next, determine a justified spectral efficiency in bit/s/Hz.
- Use B = (Mbps ร 1,000,000) / eta to calculate channel bandwidth in Hz.
- After inserting the variables and calculating the result, check your answer with the calculator above.
Example Problem :
Use the following variables as an example problem to test your knowledge.
Data rate (Mbps) = 100 Mbps
Selected spectral efficiency = 2 bit/s/Hz; 100 Mbps divided by 2 bit/s/Hz gives 50 MHz of bandwidth.
