A personal area network (PAN) is a computer network used for data transmission among devices such as computers, telephones and personal digital assistants. PANs can be used for communication among the personal devices themselves (intrapersonal communication), or for connecting to a higher level network and the Internet.

Personal area networks can be constructed with cables or be wireless. USB and FireWire technologies often link together a wired PAN, while wireless PANs typically use Bluetooth or sometimes infrared connections. Bluetooth PANs are also sometimes called piconets.

The reach of a WPAN varies from a few centimeters to a few meters. A PAN may also be carried over wired computer buses such as USB and FireWire.A range of less than 10 meters (about 30 feet). PANs can be viewed as a special type (or subset) of local area network (LAN) that supports one person instead of a group.