The objective of this course is to gain an understanding of the fundamentals of data communications networks. The course provides a unified and fundamental view of the broad field of data communications networks. Five major areas are covered: 1) data transmission techniques, 2) line sharing techniques, 3) line control techniques, 4) data link protocols and 5) data network design. The basic data communication components are introduced, the fundamentals of signaling and data transmission are explained, communications circuit offerings are identified, the communications equipment and techniques for making optimum use of the available communications bandwidth are discussed, line control techniques are explained, the protocols for communicating over a data link are discussed, the type of common carrier networks are examined, and techniques for optimizing the design of networks are shown. The course provides a detailed examination of analog and digital signaling, bandwidth and data rates, carrier service offerings, analog and digital transmission facilities, data transmission techniques, modulation techniques and modems, digital transmission, the physical interface, polling, multiplexing and concentration line sharing techniques, communications equipment, error detection and error correction line control techniques, data link layer protocols, PC file transfer and modem protocols, data compression and data security techniques, topology and system design algorithms, circuit costing, network switching techniques and common carrier networks.