will firmly establish Comcast as the 3rd cable TV operator.
44. 18-Nov-99: ?The Search Continues
for a Single Wireless Standard? ? There are currently a half-dozen standards
in place for wireless service from Global System for Mobile Communications
to Time Division Multiple Access. Right now the force seems to be
a convergence between GSM & TDMA, creating a dominant standard.
None-the-less, giants like Sprint & Bell Atlantic favor Code Division
Multiple Access.
45. 19-Nov-99: ?Privacy Concerns
Rise As Plans for Tracking Cell Phone Users Unfold? ? The FCC has mandated
that all wireless providers be able to pinpoint the location of a wireless
911 call within 100 feet by October 2001. Also, recently the agency
mandated that wireless providers be able to provide the beginning and ending
location of a phone call to law enforcement officials.
46. 22-Nov-99: ?Deal Would Give Vodafone
a Leg Up in A Heated Race? ? Vodafone announced a bid for Mannesmann AG,
in an attempt to build the first pan-European wireless network. This
would be a major benefit for Vodafone in being able to offer flat rate
plan over the entire European coverage area.
47. 22-Nov-99: ?Cabletron to Sell
Unit for Stock of $860 Million? ? In an effort to regain focus on high-end
networking hardware, Cabletron has agreed to sell an Internet equipment
business to Efficient Networks. Cabletron is shedding non-core businesses
in an attempt to make itself a viable takeover target. Efficient
Networks, which makes DSL modems, bought FlowPoint, which makes DSL routers.
48. 22-Nov-99: ?AT&T Expects
Delays In Closing MediaOne Deal? ? AT&T and MediaOne most likely will
not finalize their proposed deal until the second quarter of 2000.
The delay is largely due to a lengthy regulatory review by the Department
of Justice. The deal, which is none-the-less expected to go through,
will make AT&T into the nations? largest cable TV service provider.
49. 23-Nov-99: ?Nextel Sets a Deal
to Buy Phones from Kyocera? ? In a move marking the first time Nextel has
bought phones from a third party other than Motorola, Kyocera has agreed
to provide the next generation of phones for Nextel. Kyocera has
been a leader in wireless technology, and recently unveiled a phone designed
to receive streaming video.
50. 26-Nov-99: ?Court Overturns Ruling
on NextWave, Spelling Good News for FCC?s Valuation? ? An appeals court
overturned a bankruptcy ruling that valued NextWave Personal Communications
at $1.02 billion, less than a quarter the price it had bid. The ruling
marked a victory for the FCC which is hoping to reclaim billions of dollars
for spectrum licenses. The move also spelled good news for Nextel,
which is hoping to buy the troubled NextWave for $6 billion.
The Future of Telecommuters
The Future of Telecommuters
As the our global network known as the
Internet increases its size and speed, the future of telecommuting becomes
more and more promising. Generally speaking, telecommuting is defined
as spending at least one day out of a five day work week working in one?s
home. In a growing number of companies, traditional office space
is giving way to home offices, living rooms and even kitchens as employees
work from home, from their cars or virtually anywhere. Until recently,
technology was the main barrier to telecommuting. Now the biggest hurdles
are cultural, organizational and managerial. Those organizations that have
introduced well designed and supported home-working schemes have benefited
from lower costs, higher productivity, greater flexibility and a more motivated
workforce.
Both companies and employees are discovering
the benefits of virtual workspaces. Businesses that successfully incorporate
them will be able to significantly cut their overhead costs. It would cost
much less to have a few people answering phones at home at 3 o’clock in
the morning than running a skeleton crew in a heated/air-conditioned, lighted,
and such office building. The employer can offer telecommuting as
an option for prospective employees to improve recruitment. As an
added bonus, companies heighten their public image as environmentally conscious
by saving some ozone by curtailing traffic and commuters. They?re also
finding that by being flexible, they?re more responsive to customers, while
retaining key personnel whom otherwise might be lost to a spouse?s transfer
or a new child. Left to generally work on their own terms, employees most
often are happier, as well as more creative and productive.
How are employees likely to benefit? That
depends mostly to which particular employee we are referring. Telecommuting
allows someone with a physical handicap that could not actually commute
to the workplace to still function as a valuable employee. It would allow
someone who has small children and feels a great need to be home for them
to still work and have a career. The distance an employee must travel daily
to work is a factor that can induce great amounts of frustration and expense
in one?s life. Telecommuting can alleviate this stress. And, employees
who successfully embrace the concept are better able to manage their work
and personal lives. Allowing greater freedom and bestowing greater responsibility
can enhance job satisfaction. However, employees should be aware of some
of the pitfalls of telecommuting as well as the benefits. It is estimated
that telecommuters earn less overall then office workers.
Managers often fear that employees will
not get enough work done if they can?t see them. Most veterans of the virtual
office, however, maintain that the exact opposite is true. All too often,
employees wind up fielding phone calls in the evening or stacking an extra
hour or two on top of an eight-hour day. Not surprisingly, that can create
an array of problems, including burnout, errors and marital conflict.
Another potential problem with which virtual employees must deal is handling
all the distractions that can occur at home. As a result, many firms will
provide workers with specific guidelines for handling work at home. The
majority of workers will adjust and become highly productive in an alternative
office environment. The most important thing for a company to do is to
give suggestions that will help workers adapt.
This new work environment is designed around
the concept that one?s best thinking isn?t necessarily done at a desk or
in an office. Sometimes, it?s done in a conference room with several people.
Other times it?s done on a ski slope or driving to a client?s office. The
idea is to eliminate the boundaries about where people are supposed to
think, to create an environment that is stimulating and rich in resources.
Employees decide on their own where they will work each day, and are judged
on work produced rather than on hours put in at the office. Because workers
aren?t in the same place every day, they may be exposed to a wider range
of people and situations. And that can open their eyes and minds to new
ideas and concepts.
Technology is obviously the driving force
behind the shift to telecommuting. Technology can be relatively straightforward
- a good PC with licensed office software and a modem or DSL connection
to the central systems. These must in turn be designed to enable remote
working – for example database applications should use client-server techniques
to minimize workstation bandwidth requirements. For many home-workers a
combination of email, file-transfer and intranet/internet access is sufficient.
Some Internet service providers are offering secure gateway services into
corporate systems, an advantage being national and international access
for the price of a local call
A broad range of information and communications
technologies is beginning to enable better organizational effectiveness,
efficiency and customer service:
 High speed computer and phone
system networking allows staff to use any standard desktop, independently
of location – main office, other office, home or on-the-move
 Intranets (high speed internal
internets) are easy to implement and maintain and can offer simple, standard
interfaces to most corporate applications including legacy mainframe and
client-server systems
 Integrated desktop applications,
such as Microsoft Office, can streamline and automate a wide variety of
office tasks with minimal programming effort
 With computer-telephony integration
(CTI) the IT and phone systems (fixed and portable) can work in harmony
to deliver advanced messaging and call-center solutions
 The Internet is already widely
used in the technology sector for customer service and support – use will
extend to other sectors as networks improve and consumer and business usage
grows, especially with the advent of Internet-enabled televisions
 Document image processing
(DIP) and optical character recognition (OCR) support the elimination of
paper and streamline associated processes, for example by scanning incoming
mail and other documents.
Companies maintain links with the mobile
work force in a variety of ways. Employees access their E-mail and voicemail
daily; important messages and policy updates are broadcast regularly into
the mailboxes of thousands of workers. When the need for teleconferencing
arises, it can put hundreds of employees on the line simultaneously. Typically,
the organization?s mobile workers link from cars, home offices, hotels,
even airplanes. Virtual workers are only a phone call away. Certainly,
telephony has become, and will continue to be a powerful driver in the
virtual-office boom. Satellites and high-tech telephone systems, such as
DSL lines, allow companies to zoom data from one location to another at
light speed. Organizations will link to their work force and hold virtual
meetings using tools such as video-conferencing.
The trend is being bolstered by growing
corporate acceptance of the workstyle and a recognition by employers that
it is mutually beneficial for them and their employees. The strong
economy coupled with high employment rates has created a positive environment
for alternative workstyles and has prompted employers to use the telecommuting
option to lure highly sought-after, skilled employees.
Joanne Pratt, president of Joanne H. Pratt
Associates cited three factors that are driving the growth of telecommuting:
 Internet growth
The Internet has created a demand for
PCs and provided an incentive to set up a home office.
 Technology has reached a
critical mass
Cell phones, notebook computers and other
technologies have resulted in the workforce that is equipped to work anywhere.
 Work/life balance
Employees are paying attention to work/life
choices and even conditioning their acceptance of new jobs on pre-approval
to telecommuting.
In its first major study of telecommuting
in two years, FIND/SVP reports 11 million Americans now telecommute to
the office. That’s a 30% jump from two years ago and a 175% leap from 1990.
FIND/SVP expects U.S. telecommuting to swell another 3 million by the year
2001. Another research company, The Yankee Group, agrees the telecommuting
workforce is growing at a brisk clip (18% per year). The American Management
Association forecasts a 171% growth in telecommuting over the next five
years. The rapid technology adoption was also noticed by the FIND/SVP survey,
which discovered that an estimated 31 percent of telecommuters use the
Internet, more than double the average rate for home users, and 75 percent
of telecommuters use personal computers.
Looking ahead, it’s just a simple matter
of mathematics. Computer and networking equipment is getting better and
cheaper. Office space is getting more expensive. Highway traffic is becoming
more congested. It’s only a matter of time until home workers become as
numerous as office workers. Eventually, this will mean that IT departments
have to become as adept at supporting these remote workers as they are
at supporting LAN-based users in company offices. Keeping a fleet of temperamental
laptop computers up and running is part of the headache. Keeping the connection
to the Internet up 24-by-7 will also loom large, as will volume purchases
of personal fax machines and printers.
Society is on the frontier of a fundamental
change in the way the workplace is viewed and how work is handled. In the
future, it will become increasingly difficult for traditional companies
to compete against those embracing the virtual office. Clearly, many considerations
must factor into a decision by a company to implement a telecommuting program.
However, companies that embrace the concept are sending out a loud message.
They?re making it clear that they?re interested in their employees? welfare,
that they?re seeking a competitive edge, and that they aren?t afraid to
rethink their work force for changing conditions. Those are the ingredients
for future success.