Data communication is the transmission of information over a physical or wireless medium from a source to a destination. This field relies on establishing protocols and standards that govern how data is encoded, transmitted, and decoded. Communication methods are broadly categorized into guided, which utilize physical conductors such as optical fibers or copper cables, and unguided, which employ atmospheric propagation, such as radio waves. Core technical concepts include bandwidth, which quantifies the maximum data rate achievable through a channel, and latency, which represents the delay in the transmission of signals. The overarching objective of data communication technologies is to facilitate reliable and efficient exchange of structured information across increasingly complex interconnected networks.