VoIP systems are getting us closer to your example. Properly provisioned VoIP (on-prem or cloud) can take a SIP user which looks exactly like an email address and direct digital calls to a physical phone. These days it’s likely going to be sent to an office desk phone or a Teams user, but many years from now it will likely be more common to dial out like that from/to any phone device.
I think your example is a bit more nuanced in that there’s some sort of regional database that I suppose one could register for when they change their address. But I don’t think we’re moving in that direction. Things are moving in a decentralized manner and folks hold onto their digital identities, regardless of their geographical location. So like others comments have said, the phone book system is not evolving any further, because modern communication systems are already the evolved version.
VoIP systems are getting us closer to your example. Properly provisioned VoIP (on-prem or cloud) can take a SIP user which looks exactly like an email address and direct digital calls to a physical phone. These days it’s likely going to be sent to an office desk phone or a Teams user, but many years from now it will likely be more common to dial out like that from/to any phone device.
I think your example is a bit more nuanced in that there’s some sort of regional database that I suppose one could register for when they change their address. But I don’t think we’re moving in that direction. Things are moving in a decentralized manner and folks hold onto their digital identities, regardless of their geographical location. So like others comments have said, the phone book system is not evolving any further, because modern communication systems are already the evolved version.