Different media are employed for transmitting data from one computer terminal to the central computer or to other computer systems inside some kind of network.

There are two forms of communication media:

• Analog: Includes the conventional radio, telephonic and television broadcasts
• Digital: Computer-mediated communication, computer networking and telegraphy

The most commonly used data communication media include:

• Wire pairs
• Coaxial cable
• Microwave transmission
• Communication satellites
• Fiber optics

The communication media acts as a communication channel for linking various computing devices so that they may interact with each other.

Contemporary communication media facilitate communication and data exchange among a large number of individuals across long distances via email, teleconferencing, Internet forums, etc. Traditional mass media channels such as TV, radio and magazines, on the other hand, promote one-to-many communication.