High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! In computer networking, Gigabit Ethernet (GbE or 1 GigE) is a term describing various technologies for transmitting Ethernet frames at a rate of a gigabit per second (1,000,000,000 bits per second), as defined by the IEEE 802.3-2008 standard. It came into use beginning in 1999, gradually supplanting Fast Ethernet in wired local networks where it performed considerably faster. The cables and equipment are very similar to previous standards, and by the year 2010, were very common and economical.