A local area network (LAN) is a computer network covering a small local area, like a home, office, or small group of buildings such as a home, office, or college. Current LANs are most likely to be based on switched Ethernet or Wi-Fi technology running at 10, 100 or 1,000 Mbit/s.

The defining characteristics of LANs in contrast to WANs (wide area networks) are: their much higher data rates; smaller geographic range; and that they do not require leased telecommunication lines.

     source - Local area network. (2006, August 26). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved August 31, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_area_network

In a typical Hautspot design, the WLAN (Wireless LAN, or hotspot or hotzone) runs in parallel with any existing LAN. Sputnik's firewalling technology keeps public WLAN traffic walled off from the private network (LAN), while enabling the sharing of a single broadband internet connection. In addition, SSID Client Isolation technology keeps individual WLAN clients separate from one another, as an added security feature.