A metropolitan area network (MAN) is a data communications network that connects devices or local networks across a city-scale area. It is larger than a local area network (LAN), which serves a building or campus, and smaller in geographic scope than a wide area network (WAN), which links networks across broader regions. A MAN has no single required ownership model or technology.
What a metropolitan area network does
A MAN connects sites or networks spread across a metropolitan area. For example, an organization could use one to link its offices in different parts of a city, allowing those sites to communicate as part of a wider network. IEEE describes MANs as often providing a way to interconnect local networks.
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The term describes geographic reach and networking role, not a specific product or design. IEEE characterizes the scale as ranging from several blocks of buildings to entire cities; it does not set one distance limit that applies to every MAN. IEEE Std 802-2001 gives that description in its overview of local and metropolitan area networks.
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The categories are most useful as a comparison of the areas a network serves. Their boundaries are qualitative rather than fixed mileage thresholds.
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| Network type | Typical scale in IEEE descriptions | Typical role |
|---|---|---|
| LAN | A building, warehouse, or campus | Connects devices within a local site. |
| MAN | Several blocks of buildings through an entire city | Connects sites or interconnects LANs across a metropolitan area. |
| WAN | Broader regions, such as different parts of a country or the world | Connects networks across a much wider geographic footprint. |
IEEE’s architecture material describes LANs and MANs by these differing scales, while its LAN overview also contrasts local networks with WANs. IEEE Std 802-2001 describes the LAN-to-MAN distinction; IEEE 802-2024 is the current IEEE 802 standards-family reference, published 21 March 2025, covering reference models for LANs, MANs, PANs, and RANs.
Who can operate a MAN
A MAN does not have to be owned by a city government or a telecommunications provider. IEEE’s architectural description allows for a network operated privately by one organization, shared among multiple organizations, or offered as a public utility serving organizations and individuals. The operator and users depend on the particular network.
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What technology can a MAN use?
MAN describes scope, so the label does not require a particular cable or transmission technology. Ethernet over fiber is one example: IEEE’s Ethernet standard record describes Ethernet operation over fiber-optic cable and identifies physical-layer types suited to metropolitan-area applications. That supports fiber as a possible implementation, not as a requirement for every MAN. IEEE 802.3-2022 documents Ethernet specifications and physical-layer options.
IEEE’s architecture material also describes MANs as capable of using moderate-to-high data-rate channels, but that is an architectural characterization, not a performance guarantee for every network or service. A specific deployment’s speed and infrastructure depend on its design.
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