Wireless networks can be classified broadly as:
Wireless personal-area network (WPAN) – Operates in the range of a few feet (Bluetooth).
Wireless LAN (WLAN) – Operates in the range of a few hundred feet.
Wireless wide-area network (WWAN) – Operates in the range of miles.
Bluetooth – An IEEE 802.15 WPAN standard; uses a device-pairing process to communicate over distances up to .05 mile (100m).
Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) – An IEEE 802.11 WLAN standard; provides network access to home and corporate users, to include data, voice and video traffic, to distances up to 0.18 mile (300m).