Final answer:
Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs) serve areas of 1 to 30 miles, about the size of a city, connecting multiple LANs. Historically, TV networks relied on local transmission towers to broadcast within cities, but today, MANs often use high-speed technologies like fiber optics for various communication services.
Step-by-step explanation:
The networks that serve an area of 1 to 30 miles, approximately the size of a typical city, are known as Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs). These networks are designed to connect multiple Local Area Networks (LANs) within a city-sized area.
This size of network fits between LANs, which cover smaller areas like a single building or campus, and Wide Area Networks (WANs), which cover large geographic areas, potentially spanning over thousands of kilometers.
Historically, television networks used local affiliates and their transmission towers to broadcast content within such city-sized areas. These towers had a limited radius, necessitating a network presence in each major city to reach viewers.
Even though technology has evolved and many people now access television content via cable or other means, the networks still play a critical role in disseminating programming, including news, public affairs, and sports shows, to large audiences.
Nowadays, MANs are more often associated with high-speed networks that use technologies like fiber optics to provide internet and other communication services across a city.
They enable businesses, government agencies, educational institutions, and other entities to maintain efficient, high-speed communications within a metropolitan area.