A MAN, basically bigger versions of a LAN is designed to extend over a whole city.  It can be single network like a cable television network, or it can be a means of connecting a number of LANs into a large network so that resources can be shared for example, a company can employ a MAN to link the LANs in all of its offices throughout a city.

A MAN typically covers an area of among 5 and 50 km diameter. Several MANs cover an area the size of a city, although in some of the cases MANs may be as small as a group of buildings

The MAN, its communications links & equipment are usually owned either by a consortium of users or single network provider who sells the service to the users. Therefore this level of service provided to each of user must be negotiated with the

Normally MAN operator, and some performance guarantees are specified.

A MAN frequently acts as a high-speed network to let sharing of regional resources (alike to a large LAN). This is also frequently used to provide a shared connection to other networks by using a link to a WAN.