This dissertation focuses on transmission networks. These networks play an important role in communication (including data and voice), energy transmission (such as gas, electrical, and oil), and micro-electronics among other areas. In this dissertation, we consider two different problems associated with transmission networks: the dynamics on a data communication network and the optimal design of a general transmission network located on a non-uniform landscape. The first two parts of this dissertation develop and apply mathematical models of congested Internet connections and describe possible extensions to network traffic state estimation and network security. The third part looks at an optimal network design problem through a variation on the Euclidean Steiner tree problem, a well-known network optimization problem.