What does download speed of 8Mb mean?

8Mb is a form of speed. First off as a note, a single Byte is equal to eight Bites, which is why advertisements for Broadband companies like to use the Bites since it makes the number seem much higher. MB = MegaByte

Mb = MegaBit The capatalization of the B/b is very important as you see. Now one MegaByte is equal to 1000KB (Kilobyte), same rule works here with the capital B/b. One megabit equals to 125 KB (where 8 Mb = 1 MB)

Now for most small screen movies (YouTube, etc) to play smoothly without breaking up takes about a steady 250-350KB/ps (per second). Speeds are not always constant since when trying to download it might sometimes come from a host in Another Country. In which case it has to be redirected through several countries and servers before the file reaches your computer. To see this in action, do the following: In Windows, select Start > Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt. Enter the Word tracert, followed by a space, then the domain name (i.e.- www.msn.com) http://www.mediacollege.com/internet/troubleshooter/traceroute.html