Today, new ways of constructing and delivering complex wireless and mobile services require more elaborate and distributed prototyping, testing, and validation facilities. Testbeds are becoming an important tool for integrating technology components into the complex environment of the wireless world and end-users in their daily life. However technology in itself is no longer valid-benefits and usefulness for people in their daily life must be proven before the technology or service can be said to be a success.

Living Labs is a user-centred real-life approach to wireless and mobility service and technology design and development (as well as other service areas). The user-centred approach places special emphasis on the need to develop mobile services that are usable, i.e. effective, efficient and satisfying to use, and has full end user integration in the creation and validation processes, which is necessary for gauging market acceptance of the developed prototypes and solutions.