A wireless local area network (WLAN) links two or more devices using some wireless distribution method (typically spread-spectrum or OFDM radio), and usually providing a connection through an access point to the wider internet. This gives users the mobility to move around within a local coverage area and still be connected to the network. Most modern WLANs are based on IEEE 802.11 standards, marketed under the Wi-Fi brand name.

Wireless LANs have become popular in the home due to ease of installation, and in commercial complexes offering wireless access to their customers; often for free. Large wireless network projects are being put up in many major cities: New York City, for instance, has begun a pilot program to provide city workers in all five boroughs of the city with wireless Internet access.

Norman Abramson, a professor at the University of Hawaii, developed the world’s first wireless computer communication network, ALOHAnet, using low-cost ham-like radios. The system included seven computers deployed over four islands to communicate with the central computer on the Oahu Island without using phone lines.