Difference Between LAN,MAN and WAN

Characteristics	LAN	MAN	WAN
Acronym	Local Area Network	Metropolitan Area Network	Wide Area Network
Cost	Less Costly	More Costly	Costliest
Speed	Up to 10-100Mbps	5-10Mbps	256Kbps to 2Mbps
Range	1Km	Up to 50 Kms.	Up to 10,000 Kms.
Topology	Bus and Ring	Distributed Queue Dual Bus [DQDB]	ATM, Frame Relay, Sonnet
Location of computers connected in the system	Computers are located within the same Building.	Computers are located in the city and are connected using modems or telephone lines so that they can be easily connected with Each other.	Computers are distributed all over the country or the Continent. The connection is made via satellite communication link Or via internet.
Examples	LAN’s example can be an office whose different departments such as personnel, accounts etc. are located in the same building and connected via bus topology using Ethernet cards.	Example of MAN is bank whose different branches in a city like Delhi are connected using public telephone exchange and the system are connected with each other using LAN within each branch and different branches are connected using modem and bridges	WAN’s example is the connection of various branches of MNC such as Microsoft or Intel. These branches are linked using microwave satellite communication system or internet Connection. Each branch has its own LAN circuit. But the different LAN’s in various branches are communicating with head office using WAN link.