d not occur. Let us put it the other way around. Isn't it the telecom industry that should adapt to the user and to the society we live in? And all the new possibilities that appear, especially as a result of the convergence of media, telecom and datacom, shouldn't they be seen as elements in a continuous iterative process in finding an optimal everyday user life? And further, how to handle the fact that there is not just a few types of users, but indeed a spectrum of private users and organizations with different needs, values, life styles and life situations? Finally, how to segment this spectrum? What parameters? A number of conclusions can be drawn: There is a need for a better overall user understanding within the telecom sector. This understanding must include attitudes, behaviour and the human inclination of resistance to change. There is a need for a better insight regarding the new power balance, with the user in a central position as a queen/king. The expansion of the IT/telecom area and the deregulation/re-regulation of the telecom business during the latest decade or more have significantly strengthened the role of the end user. Together with the first point this should lead to a more service-minded approach with improved flexibility and agility as important characteristics. More and more, the telecom business needs a 'societal integration', which includes alliances with other businesses, like content suppliers (to provide the new services and applications), applications developers (to enable the provision of contents), banks and finance companies (for e-commerce developments), and SO on. The marketing and other parts of the user interface must be more 'human'. Deregulation has enabled the user to choose between service offerings from competing actors (see Figure 2.2). As mentioned in Chapter 1 many respected persons have analysed the present (2003) gloomy situation within the telecom industry. Let us take a sample of their proposals on needs to satisfy in order to get back on track again: The need fo