Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) is a broadband telecommunication network that connects several LANs in close proximity. As a rule, these are individual establishments in a company that are connected to a MAN via leased lines. High-performance routers and high-performance fiber-based connections are used, which enable a significantly higher data throughput than the internet. The transfer speed between two remote nodes is comparable to that of communication within a LAN.
The infrastructure for MANs is provided by international network operators. As a Metropolitan Area Network, wired cities can be integrated nationally into Wide Area Networks (WAN) and internationally in Global Area Networks (GAN).
With Metro Ethernet, a special transmission technology is available for MANs, which can be used to build powerful Metro Ethernet networks (MEN) based on Carrier Ethernet (CE 1.0) or Carrier Ethernet 2.0 (CE 2.0).
A standard for larger regional radio networks, known as Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks (WMAN), was developed with IEEE 802.16. This technology known as WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) makes it possible to set up WiFi hotspots. These are several WiFi access points working together in different locations. The current transmission standard DSL is technically only available where copper cables have been laid.
