Personal Area Network
A personal area network (abbreviation: PAN , English for personal network ) is a network that can be set up and dismantled ad hoc by small devices such as PDAs or cell phones . PANs can therefore be set up using various wired transmission technologies such as USB or FireWire or wireless technologies such as IrDA or Bluetooth ( WPAN ). The range is usually only a few meters. PANs can be used to communicate with the devices with one another, but they can also serve to communicate with a larger network ( uplink ). A PAN created using Bluetooth is called a piconet .