Advances in technology and competitive access are driving the revolution towards wireless access infrastructure for the provision of basic telephone service. Traditionally, the most difficult component of the network to build, and the least cost-effective to maintain, has proven to be the local access network regardless of a developing or a developed economy. The sheer scope of investment and engineering efforts required to build and maintain copper-based networks has created primarily lofty barriers to entry and has made high penetration rates for basic telephone service available only to the industrialized nations of the world. Even the relatively low target subscriber density (teledensity) rate of 20 lines per 100 of population set by the ITU, has, until recently, been far beyond the capability of many nations.