GAN

In short: Global Area Network — a worldwide network that links several WANs across continents.

In more detail: A GAN uses submarine cables, satellites and land links to couple networks all over the world. The internet is often called a GAN. Satellite networks and the global company networks of large corporations count as well.

In Depth

Network types are distinguished by size: PAN (on the body, a few metres), LAN (building), MAN (city), WAN (countries) and GAN (worldwide). The boundaries are fluid, and in practice people mostly just say LAN and WAN.

See also: WAN, internet