Apparatus and method for wireless near-field magnetic communication (NFMC) of information (e.g., voice or data) over modest distances (centimeters to a few kilometers). The transmission can proceed from an inductive coil transmitter to a magneto-electric (ME) receiving device, or between two ME devices. Electrical power may also be transmitted from and/or received using the same device. In one case, power and data are transmitted from an induction coil to a distant ME device that collects power and transmits data back to the power-transmission coil. In another case, the wireless transfer of data can be carried out between two ME devices. ME devices can be engineered to transmit or receive data and to receive electric power over a variety of frequencies by changing their dimensions, their material makeup and configuration, electrode configurations, and/or their resonance modes (longitudinal, transversal, bending, shear etc). Data rates up to and above several kilo-bits/s are possible using these methods with no limits on the frequency and duration of the communication.