Sure they can - a WAN is the same as a LAN, but bigger. However, that comes with different tradeoffs, in particular the need to reduce bandwidth by using less c

Sure they can - a WAN is the same as a LAN, but bigger. However, that comes with different tradeoffs, in particular the need to reduce bandwidth by using less chatty protocols. But you can absolutely rent a fiber between two buildings in the same city and run Ethernet on it.