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Baud is a unit of symbol rate measuring the number of signal changes or symbol transmissions per second. While often used interchangeably with bits per second (bps) in simple systems, baud can be significantly different from bit rate when one signal change (a baud) carries more than one bit of information, which is common in modern data transmission to increase speed.

Understanding Baud

Symbol Rate: Baud measures the number of discrete changes in a signal, such as voltage or frequency, that occur in one second. Each change is called a "symbol" or "line symbol".

Baudot's Contribution: The term "baud" honors Émile Baudot, an inventor of a system for simultaneous telegraphic transmissions.

Baud vs. Bit Rate

Simple Systems: In a basic system where each signal change transmits only one bit of data (e.g., 0 or 1), the baud rate is equal to the bit rate.

Complex Systems: In more advanced systems (like modems), one signal change can represent multiple bits by using more than two signal levels or states.

For example, a signal with four possible states (00, 01, 10, 11) can send two bits of information with a single change.

If a modem with a 2,400 baud rate uses a coding technique to transmit two bits per signal change, its bit rate would be 4,800 bps.