Wide Area Networks (WANs) are telecommunication networks that extend over a large geographical area, providing communication capabilities for businesses and organizations. Coursera's WANs catalogue teaches you the fundamentals of setting up, managing, and troubleshooting these expansive networks. You'll learn to understand the key technologies that make WANs work such as routers, switches, and various protocols, as well as the different models and services used, like MPLS, VPN, SD-WAN, and QoS. This skill set will enable you to design and implement scalable and secure network solutions for any size of organization, and understand how to optimize network performance and reliability.