From a networking standpoint, the Local Area Network (LAN) infrastructure often has an equal impact on end-user service performance as the Wide Area Network (WAN) and underlying connectivity infrastructures. At Bates Connect we treat the LAN and wireless network as a key element of our service delivery to ensure that your users receive the service experience that they need. Since the launch of the internet in the 1980s, computers and devices have required connectivity, initially provided via wires and cables, before AT&T invented the precursor to the 802.11 Wireless LAN (WLAN) standards in 1991.