WLAN
Wireless Local Area Network
The wireless version of a LAN (local-area network). WLAN technology provides short-range, high-speed wireless data connections between mobile data devices (such as laptops, PDAs, and phones) and nearby Wi-Fi access points (special hardware connected to a wired network).
WLAN technology is often faster than cellular technologies, but with much shorter range. The equivalent term for cellular is WWAN (Wireless Wide-Area Network).
See: WWAN
Wi-Fi, or 802.11, is the most common WLAN technology.
See: Wi-Fi
Last updated Mar 6, 2024 by Rich Brome
Editor in Chief Rich became fascinated with cell phones in 1999, creating mobile web sites for phones with tiny black-and-white displays and obsessing over new phone models. Realizing a need for better info about phones, he started Phone Scoop in 2001, and has been helming the site ever since. Rich has spent two decades researching and covering every detail of the phone industry, traveling the world to tour factories, interview CEOs, and get every last spec and photo Phone Scoop readers have come to expect. As an industry veteran, Rich is a respected voice on phone technology of the past, present, and future.
