The ability of different wireless technologies to co-exist within a single geographic area, owned and operated by different service providers with relatively simple sharing arrangements for common infrastructure is one of the key aspects that makes wireless technology a valuable addition to the universal service concept--in fact it can change the fundamental assumptions embodied within traditional approaches to universal service. This paper examines the challenge that operators and regulators have in providing telecommunications services, especially to smaller communities, and the role that Wireline Equivalent Fixed Wireless Access systems can play.
