Short for
transmitter-receiver, a device that both transmits and receives analog or digital signals. The term is used most frequently to describe the component in
local-area networks (LANs) that actually applies signals onto the network wire and detects signals passing through the wire. For many LANs, the transceiver is built into the
network interface card (NIC). Some types of networks, however, require an external transceiver.
In Ethernet networks, a transceiver is also called a Medium Access Unit (MAU).
In radio communications, a transceiver is a two-way radio that combines both a radio transmitter and a receiver that exchanges information in half-duplex mode.
