ETKjide Area Networks. Telecommunications networks covering a large geographic area are called remote networks, long-distance networks, or, more popularly, wide area networks (WANs). Networks that cover a large city or metropolitan area (metropolitan area networks) can also be included in this category. Such large networks have become a necessity for carrying out the day-to-day activities of many business and government organizations and their end users. Thus, WANs are used by manufacturing firms, banks, retailers, distributors, transportation companies, and government agencies to transmit and receive information among their employees, customers, suppliers, and other organizations across cities, regions, countries, or the world….