The data is binary, the encoding doesn't have to be. Most modulation schemes in high-speed digital communication uses more than 2 states, but it doesn't make it

The data is binary, the encoding doesn't have to be. Most modulation schemes in high-speed digital communication uses more than 2 states, but it doesn't make it less "digital" (in the end, everything is analog). Gigabit Ethernet's PAM-5 uses 5 different voltage levels, but one would not call it "quinary computing". Similarly, Wi-Fi's QAM-64 uses 64 possible combinations of phases and amplitudes, Base64 uses 64-symbol alphabet, but the data represented by all of them is still binary.