b.3.2 communication methods & media
From copper cables to invisible radio waves. Explore the physical highways that data travels on and the clever switching tricks that stop the internet from jamming.
Data doesn't just teleport; it needs a road to travel on. Communication Media covers the physical stuff that carries your zeros and ones. We compare old-school copper cables (cheap but shorter range) with sci-fi Fibre Optic cables that blast data as pulses of light. We also look at how data is chopped up into tiny "packets" using Packet Switching—a technique that lets millions of people use the internet at once without it crashing. It’s the difference between sending a letter on a private jet (wasteful) and sending a thousand postcards on a busy train (efficient).
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Data doesn't just teleport; it needs a road to travel on. Communication Media covers the transmission media and infrastructure that carries your zeros and ones. We compare old-school copper cables (cheap but shorter range), sci-fi Fibre Optic cables that blast data as pulses of light, and wireless transmission media like invisible radio waves for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. We also look at how data is chopped up into tiny 'packets' using Packet Switching - a technique that lets millions of people use the internet at once without it crashing. It is the difference between sending a letter on a private jet (wasteful circuit switching) and sending a thousand postcards on a busy train (efficient packet switching).
Last modified: March 20th, 2026
