Net-Centric World: Lifestyle of the 21st Century

TL;DR

This paper explores how ICTs can transform society into a network-centric environment, emphasizing telecommuting, increased mobility, and the need for new standards to support mobile living.

Contribution

It formalizes key attributes of ICT-based telecommuting, introduces network-eligible transactions, and links network centricity with increased worker settlement radius.

Findings

Media-rich network services can increase work-home distance.

Migration to mobile living requires new services and standards.

Network-centric ICTs can significantly alter societal and work patterns.

Abstract

In this paper, we research the potential of information communication technologies (ICTs) for changing our society from a commute-centric to a network-centric environment. We propose to formalize the key attributes of ICT-based telecommuting experiences from both economic and human interactivity perspective. We introduce the notion of network-eligible transactions and disclose the link between degree of network centricity and worker settlement radius, postulating that media-rich network services have a strong potential to increase the physical distance between work and home locations. We also highlight notable technology challenges and opportunities of migration from location-based to mobile living, signifying the needs for new services and standards development.