veloping to manage both data and voice transfer. It is not difficult to realize that such a technological competition with abundant almost parallel technical solutions is far from optimal. The marriage between telecom and the media industry, enabled by the Internet in particular, is now guiding us towards a desired convergence. It should be noted that the word convergence can be used in a broader sense than just technical convergence. It means that there are many interpretations, four of which are quoted below. 'Convergence is a global trend, not a specific technology. Besides technology, con- vergence forces operators, service providers and suppliers closer'. 'Convergence is a way of making more money from the networks. The networks become multi-service to adapt to the convergence and generate more money.' the case for convergence of network technologies is clear. The result is increas- ing openness and sharing of technologies, systems and knowledge across different networks. The end result is improved economy of scale with lower costs, and a larger room for other criteria than technology to drive operators' and service providers' network strategy decisions.' "Convergence is the key word for communications in the 21st century. Operators are converging through mergers and acquisitions, often across national boundaries. Understanding Changing Telecommunications - Building a Successful Telecom Business Convergence everywhere End user MT = mobile terminal Converged content in the user terminals Level 1 Media Telecom Network Applica- industry business tions Level 2 Telecom Datacom Telecom Datacom business business networks networks Business convergence Technical convergence Figure 3.9 The convergence affects business, network and content Infrastructure is converging, with the established telecommunications technologies transitioning to solutions based on IP. Services are converging in a variety of ways. Operators are offering bundled services SO that customers can obtain all their com- munication needs - data and voi