Locating People, Places, and Things: Situating GIS in the Intelligent Network Landscape

This paper discusses Geographic Information Systems (GIS), particularly in the context of intelligent networks. It begins by examining some of the fundamental characteristics that help define GIS, followed by an overview of how GIS is currently being utilized by the providers of intelligent networks themselves. Yet it is beyond these types of applications, and more in terms of the everyday user, where GIS is in many ways evolving most rapidly. The intersection between GIS with intelligent networks, and the emerging ubiquity of location-aware devices, is further helping to define GIS as an especially powerful tool.