 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 for services that are attractive and/or make life easier. The need for safety services for elderly people, the need for more medical services. The need for easy-to-use devices. The need for a user-oriented language, avoiding expressions like WAP, GPRS, ISDN in marketing and other user-related activities. The need to create, market and test new services in the established systems. The need for security and related standards, especially for transactional services. The need for accessibility, with sufficient coverage, and roaming between different systems. The user orientation is clear. The obvious need for a bottom-line quality of service adds to the list. End-User Needs and Demands Marketing expenses, Total market (all users) Competitors Business pricing User needs User segments Revenue Market share, churn (regulations) Service offerings Other operators Operating and service expenses providers Interconnect Financial calculations ROCE, NPV Investments ROI, risk Network Accounting Figure 2.2 Service offerings from competing actors The statement that users live in a dynamic environment is recognized. Yet, let us take some examples from the last 10 years: More interactivity is offered, such as