The wireless future: will personal become increasingly personalised?

Today´s technology is providing solutions which will enable each customer to become an individual communicator, to develop his/her unique vision of wireless multimedia, and to meet the needs of their precise business and private lifestyles. Initiatives in progress in Japan, North America and within the European Community indicate that to meet the challenges of globalisation and international competition, very significant effort must be devoted to the development of personal telecommunications networks, products and services. Such a vision of the future personalised communications clearly imposes new roles for operators, service providers and the wireless industry. This paper, therefore, is aimed at giving an overview (from an ideal European observatory) of what opportunities (and potential risks) could be expected in the medium/long-term scenario of wireless services offered to the customer