Information-Centric Connectivity

Mobile devices are often presented with multiple connectivity options usually making a selection either randomly or based on load/wireless conditions metrics, as is the case of current offloading schemes. In this paper we claim that link-layer connectivity can be associated with information-availability and in this respect connectivity decisions should be information-aware. This constitutes a next step for the Information-Centric Networking paradigm, realizing the concept of Information-Centric Connectivity (ICCON). We elaborate on different types of information availability and connectivity decisions in the context of ICCON, present specific use cases and discuss emerging opportunities, challenges and technical approaches. We illustrate the potential benefits of ICCON through preliminary simulation and numerical results in an example use case.