Part 1 Introduction: beyond copper the not so all-encompassing network. Part 2 The problem of access, the evolution of the telephone system and the era of the uncompletable system. Part 3 Wireless access: applications and technologies; applications of wireless access; technology for wireless access. Part 4 Wireless access: economics and engineering; economics of wireless access; engineering for wireless access. Part 5 The laminar network: fiber optics vs. digital radio; the "PCN" trajectory in the USA.