We examined efficiency within wireless access options for mobile devices and discovered that a classic pitfall is revisited. As with the proliferation of services in incumbents’ portfolios, leading to a number of coexisting so-called ‘stove-pipes’, we see an isomorphic phenomenon evolving in multimodal mobile devices, leading to an inefficient development of vertical stack technical solutions for each different mode. For the first time we found the optimal technical and commercial fit, i.e. between the internal device solution and the external service provider solution respectively, with tremendous benefits for the end user. Migration from vertical towards horizontal solutions, with tilting on device level, not only decreases costs but also hugely increases the flexibility for the introduction of new customised solutions. This article outlines a unique technology called XAS that enables automatic access selection for a requested service, based on qualifiers such as available bandwidth, QoS offered and connection costs. Clever implementation of this system will extend commercial utilisation further than just access selection. This system will also enhance the performance of existing devices in terms of stand-by time and security. In addition, it will open vast opportunities to introduce new and exciting services based on the location of the user. The solution outlined is not merely a theoretical exercise, but has already been built in a realistic pre-commercial demonstrator with which promising results have been obtained. Lucent Technologies has filed a patent for the system concept.