Data communication involves the transmission of electronic data over a transmission medium. It has five basic components: a sender, receiver, message, medium, and protocol. There are different modes of transmission including simplex, half duplex, and full duplex. The transmission medium is the physical path between the transmitter and receiver, which can be guided mediums like twisted pair cables or unguided mediums like microwaves. It carries the encoded data signals in the form of electromagnetic or light waves.