From the beginning of 1st Generation mobile systems, access network architecture has changed very little. That’s not to say that we have not seen dramatic changes to the technologies deployed in the access networks through the generations and in the associated back haul. The need for backward compatibility has meant that we have tended to mix-and-match 2G, 3G, and LTE to create a one-hat-fits-all wide area macro access network to serve all user cases. It’s worked fine so far but the future user cases and business models emerging in the wireless world mean that now we to be much more efficient in using the access technology that best suits the explicit market needs and those that are optimised around different products and user cases. Fit for purpose access technologies are emerging and the trick for service providers of all types is now to produce a strategy that encompasses the right solutions for right user cases and business plans. In this hot topic, we explore the options and the opportunities that lay ahead as the revolution in the access network takes shape. Decision time is looming.