The new mobility of our society caused by telecommunications

There is no job which has remained unaffected by information and communication technology (ICT). Technologies have a profound influence on society and on other and future technologies. With the start of the 21/sup st/ century we have noted the following change processes in the area of communication technologies: 1) Digitalisation: analogue forms of the media have been digitalised. 2) Less hardware - more software: hardware is being replaced by software. 3) In the future, cable-bound technology will be mobile, whilst mobile technology will be cable-bound. 4) Higher bandwidth. New applications such as video-on-demand require higher transmission rates. New communication networks follow ADSL and UMTS technologies. The demand for communication cannot be satisfied in all parts of the world - communication technologies are related to the financial power of a country or a region. In the richer countries, individuals are turning into "networked egoists ".