Broadband DSL gets down to business

Jul 24, 2002 12:00 PM, Bill Rodey

A growing number of Internet users are telecommuters that say Internet access is as crucial to them as telephones, electricity or heat, which means the time is right for the United States Government to implement a DSL broadband-based telecommuting stimulus initiative. Such a program could considerably aid the economy and could potentially reverse the current tech-recession. This program could yield significant benefits for this country as a whole including:

• Reduced dependence on foreign oil

• Reduced congestion of the nation's roads

• Reduced pollution and production of greenhouse gasses

• Reduced operations costs for the country's businesses

• Increased employee productivity

• Increased employment

• Improved quality of life for employees

• Reduced likelihood of terrorist attacks on corporations through the decentralization of businesses.

This initiative would provide the stimulus for getting broadband connections into every American household, thus leading to improved commerce, education and entertainment opportunities for all of our citizens. 

Telecommuting is defined as the use of communication technologies from a distance to allow people to work from home, in remote office locations or while traveling. Through the use of telephones and voice-band modems workers can communicate via voice or e-mail and can enter a company server to access the necessary files to successfully accomplish usual tasks. 

Practice makes perfect

Presently millions of people are telecommuting - 20% of the current U.S. workforce, or 28.8 million as of October 2001, according to the International Telework Association & Counsel. The practice has not nearly realized its potential in the market because medium and large-sized companies have not embraced and fully implemented the idea. Today it is the small business owners, sales people, individual contractors and corporate executives who are leading the way by using telecommuting. Potentially, telecommuting could be applied to virtually every knowledge worker in every business. Functions such as sales, marketing, planning, data processing, information services, accounting, engineering, computer programming and customer service could all be performed via telecommuting requiring the employee to physically visit the office only periodically for face-to-face meetings with their colleagues and supervisors.

• Some key reasons that telecommuting has not been implemented yet on a broad basis are:

• Apprehension about security and protection of company information

• Company governance concerns and the ability to assure that employees are actually working

• Fear that a common corporate culture cannot be established across a distributed workforce

• A perceived lack of control by corporate executive management

• Inaccurate cost vs. benefits analysis.

Early trials of telecommuting by companies showed promising results but in most cases were not able to overcome the previously mentioned objections. Nevertheless, in almost every case, the employees were extremely pleased with telecommuting. Most felt that they were more productive and all were grateful to avoid the physical commute to their office. They also benefited greatly from the flexibility in scheduling that telecommuting offered. 

Many telecommuters work late into the night or get up early and get their work done with minimal interruptions. This leaves time for them to live more balanced lifestyles. For example, parents who must run a child to a dentist appointment or who don't want to miss seeing their child in a school activity- which is often more conveniently located to their homes rather than their company offices, meaning less time away overall. A telecommuter can coach a little league team for a more rounded everyday life and then go back to work after dinner - and still be at home. People appreciate this flexibility and ultimately the employer compensates a more productive, contented worker with a happier lifestyle. Some companies like Nortel, BellSouth and AT&T continue to take advantage of extensive telecommuting programs. 

It is important to note that most of the telecommuting trials were done in the early 1990s using the limited technology that was available at that time. Today, through the use of broadband DSL technology, most of the objections can be overcome. It is now possible to implement a broadband connection to all metropolitan areas and most homes. With speedy DSL connections at 384 kb/s or greater, it is possible to use voice, video and data simultaneously through an always-on connection.

DSL empowers easy remote employee monitoring

A virtual private network (VPN) can be established between the residence and the business, enabling videoconferencing, data transfer and voice over IP. With these capabilities, an employee really can establish a remote presence at the office, with the ability to videoconference with other employees, share data files and use the phone just the same as if they were physically in the same office connected to the PBX via a secure, encrypted connection.

Supervisors can monitor their employees and through the use of videoconferencing they can create a sense of connection and culture. The always-on connection provides an auditing capability of any employee's activities. The business would need to implement a VPN, encryption engine, videoconference bridge and a VoIP gateway to the PBX. This equipment is readily available in the market at attractive prices, and many service providers are capable of integrating the technologies into a seamless service. 

U.S. stands to reap DSL's benefits

A broadband DSL-based telecommuting stimulus package could ensure that the United States remains globally competitive, especially vs. countries such as Korea and Germany, which have seen the wisdom of creating a broadband-connected population. A proper stimulus program would create a mass market for DSL and a number of other broadband-related technologies like fiber optics, routers, wireless LAN, ATM switches, VoIP gateways and security products needed to support the always-on broadband paradigm such as firewalls, virus/e-mail filters, VPN devices, encryption and authentication devices etc. In addition, it could be a catalyst for the entire application and managed service provider markets. 

This initiative would result in the subsidization of broadband by the nation's businesses in a way that is economically prosperous for those businesses and create a mass market for broadband similar to that of cell phones, personal computers and fax machines. 

With a secure, broadband-connected workforce, companies stand to reap many benefits:

• Reduced building costs

• Improved productivity out of the workforce

• Reduced human resource costs as DSL empowers contract labor flexibility as the workload ebbs and flows, to expand and contract the company rapidly at less cost

• Reduced office distractions which allow impromptu broadband-connected project teams to stay more focused on project goals and timelines

• Improved employee security and safety due to decentralization.

Instead of investing in brick and mortar, companies can invest in project teams, people and outcomes. The use of DSL as a telecommuting tool can stimulate the creation of virtual corporations that form around a business idea and rapidly produce the desired results. Most importantly, companies can inoculate themselves against future tragedies like the World Trade Center catastrophe by decentralizing their assets and making it impossible for an attack to take out their entire enterprise. This should be a key part in the strategic evolution of every company and boards of directors should be driving for solutions that protect the employees, assets and intellectual property of their businesses. 

Costs

With today's technologies this corporate office implementation should not cost the business more than a few thousand dollars. Additional telecommuting expenses would be the monthly cost of a broadband DSL connection to their employees (currently about $50/month) and a few hundred dollars for an IP phone and videoconference equipment. It is certainly feasible that a DSL-based broadband telecommuting service could be implemented for less than $1000 per employee with a recurring $50/month connection fee per employee. Considering the comparable on-site alternative of a standard 8x8 commercial office space averaging about $15/square foot, businesses would save about $1000/month per employee on those costs by opting for a telecommuting alternative (Figure 1).

Government's role/initiatives

The Bush Administration has recently increased activity and focus in the broadband arena and at Washington D.C.'s 21st Century High-Tech Forum, held at the White House in June, the president declared that it is time to move forward with a broadband agenda. To determine whether to regulate any industry, the government generally requires that the service it provides be both essential and widely available - known in regulatory jargon as "essentiality and scality." Industry analyst firm Frost & Sullivan announced that as of the first quarter this year, 23.3 million digital subscriber lines have been deployed globally, revealing significant growth of nearly 14% in North America for a first-quarter total of more than 6.5 million U.S.-based DSL users.

The regulatory framework for broadband continues to evolve, slowly but surely reducing the uncertainty associated with investment in broadband facilities. A truly level playing field for the regulation of all broadband technologies in each region or country is essential for true mass-market deployment. Stimulus programs are also essential to make broadband universally available and appealing.

The United States government can have a major impact on encouraging telecommuting by providing tax breaks for companies that implement the program. The government can set targets that are meaningful to reducing pollution, foreign oil dependence and freeway congestion. For example, businesses' tax exemptions could be tied to achieving a 10% telecommuting penetration with a year and 25% of knowledge workers within two years. The government could make it easier for employees to receive tax breaks for a home office. The government could provide regulation as to the speed and availability of broadband connections to the population and provide coverage targets to service providers in making ubiquitous broadband availability a reality. The government could and should make a telecommuting broadband initiative an imperative for our country. Our future competitiveness as a nation relies on this (Figure 2).

Let's get it done! 

The Internet itself was originally set up to be a decentralized network that could not fail if the country were attacked. By using Internet technologies, businesses can likewise protect themselves. Ultimately, broadband telecommuting is the most secure and cost-effective way to run a business. Using broadband DSL on our existing copper infrastructure is the fastest and most secure way to implement such a program. The technology is there. The need is clear. The benefits are numerous and compelling. Let's get it done! 

Bill Rodey is Chairman and President of DSL Forum, and also Sr. Vice President of Marketing and Engineering at HyperEdge Corporation. He is the moderator of the keynote Service Provider Panel this coming November 7th from 8:00 am to 9:30 am at OSP EXPO in Charlotte, N.C. DSL Forum is a consortium of nearly 250 leading industry telecommunications, equipment, computing, networking and service provider companies. Technical Reports and more information are available publicly at http://www.dslforum.org,with information for end users at http://www.dsllife.com.