# Information transfer

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> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Information_transfer.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_transfer
> Source revision: 1341620277
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|Sending information over a communications medium}}
{{one source|date=March 2026}}
thumb|Ancient Egyptian drawing depicting a courier delivering a letter.
{{Use American English|date = March 2019}}
In [telecommunications](/source/telecommunications), '''information transfer''' is the process of moving messages containing [user information](/source/user_information) from a [source](/source/Communication_source) to a [sink](/source/Sink_(computing)) via a [communication channel](/source/communication_channel). In this sense, information transfer is equivalent to [data transmission](/source/data_transmission) which highlights more practical, technical aspects.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Information transfer methods — |url=https://aceproject.org/main/english/et/etf01a.htm |access-date=2026-03-03 |website=aceproject.org |language=en}}</ref>

The information [transfer rate](/source/transfer_rate) may or may not be equal to the [transmission](/source/Transmission_(telecommunications)) [modulation rate](/source/Symbol_rate).

Bidirectional information transfer is called [information exchange](/source/information_exchange).

==Non-technical meaning==
In a non-technical context, information transfer is sometimes used to signify [knowledge transfer](/source/knowledge_transfer) or [teaching](/source/teaching). A successful transfer of information depends on many aspects, not least the choice of the specific medium ([media-adequacy](/source/media-adequacy)).

==See also==
*[Federal Standard 1037C](/source/Federal_Standard_1037C) in support of [MIL-STD-188](/source/MIL-STD-188).
*[Information-transfer transaction](/source/Information-transfer_transaction)

==References==
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Category:Data transmission

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Information transfer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_transfer) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_transfer?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.