WAN

Wide-area network (WAN)

A WAN links users or LANs over a vast region. WAN is Internet. WANs connect large companies' locations, distant employees, suppliers, and data centers so they can execute applications and access data.

Snippet from Wikipedia: Wide area network

A wide area network (WAN) is a telecommunications network that extends over a large geographic area. Wide area networks are often established with leased telecommunication circuits.

Businesses, as well as schools and government entities, use wide area networks to relay data to staff, students, clients, buyers and suppliers from various locations around the world. In essence, this mode of telecommunication allows a business to effectively carry out its daily function regardless of location. The Internet may be considered a WAN. Many WANs are, however, built for one particular organization and are private. WANs can be separated from local area networks (LANs) in that the latter refers to physically proximal networks.