A wide area network (WAN) is a telecommunications network that extends over a large geographic area for the primary purpose of computer networking. Wide area networks are often established with leased telecommunication circuits.

Computer Network Terms II

A computer network is a set of computers sharing resources located on or provided by network nodes. The computers use common communication protocols over digital interconnections to communicate with each other. The connections between nodes are established using either physically wired, optical, or wireless radio-frequency that may be arranged in various network topologies. The best-known computer network is the Internet.