The purpose of the Internet Protocol (IP) is to facilitate communication between devices on a network by providing unique addressing. IP assigns each device an address that identifies it within the network, enabling data packets to be routed accurately from the sender to the recipient. The protocol ensures that information travels through the internet by breaking data into packets and defining how these packets are sent, received, and reassembled. IP is essential for all internet communications and plays a significant role in supporting various applications and services.