This document provides an introduction to data communications and networking. It discusses the history of communications technologies from the telegraph to the internet. It then describes common communication models including the OSI 7-layer model and TCP/IP protocol stack. Key topics covered include data transmission, networking, protocols, standards, and the physical, data link, network, transport, and application layers. The document aims to explain why we study communications and provide context around important concepts, models, protocols and the development of the internet.