TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENTS THROUGH TELEWORK

Transcription

1 TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENTS THROUGH TELEWORK By Gary J. Grimes, PhD, Igor Nikolic, William Jett, and John Tanik, and Charlotte G. Oliver Center for Telecommunications Education and Research The University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham, Alabama For UTCA University Transportation Center for Alabama The University of Alabama, The University of Alabama in Birmingham, and The University of Alabama at Huntsville UTCA Report July 15, 2004

2 1. Report No FHWA/CA/OR- 4. Title and Subtitle Technical Report Documentation Page 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient Catalog No. 5. Report Date Alabama Transportation Improvements Through Telework 7. Authors Dr. Gary J. Grimes, Mr. Igor Nikolic, Mr. William Jett, Mr. Urcun (John) Tanik, and Ms. Charlotte G. Oliver 9. Performing Organization Name and Address Center for Telecommunications Education and Research BEC 256 University of Alabama at Birmingham rd Avenue South Birmingham, AL Sponsoring Agency Name and Address University Transportation Center for Alabama PO Box University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL Supplementary Notes July 15, Performing Organization Code 8. Performing Organization Report No. UTCA Final Report Work Unit No. 11. Contract or Grant No. DTRS98-G Type of Report and Period Covered Final Report: January 1, 2001 July 15, Sponsoring Agency Code 16. Abstract Telework is the ability to do your work at a location other than the traditional workplace. With portable computers, high-speed telecommunications links, and wireless pocket communications devices, many employees can work almost anywhere at least some of the time. The potential impact on transportation is enormous, with a recent study reporting that traffic delays can be reduced 10% for each 3% of the workers who telework. This study examines the potential for telework to make efficiency, cost, and safety improvements to the transportation system of Alabama. The study examines the infrastructure to support telework in Alabama and makes recommendations of future actions to take advantage of telework in planning Alabama s transportation system of the future. This report is a very short summary of this work. The full documentation, which is an order of magnitude larger than this report, can be found on the Alabama Telework Initiative web site (cter.eng.uab.edu/telework) 17. Key Words Telework, Telecommute 18. Distribution Statement 19. Security Class (of this report) Unclassified 20. Security Class (of this page) 21. No of Pages Price ii

3 Contents Contents. Executive Summary... iii vi 1.0 Introduction... 1 Introduction... 1 What is telework?. 1 Methods of conducting this study Telework Snapshot Report for Alabama 3 Introduction.. 3 Telecommunications, Computing and Real Estate Infrastructure 3 Narrowband Internet Access 3 Broadband Internet Access... 3 Telephony Based Digital Subscriber Loop Based Broadband Internet Access. 3 CATV Cable Modem Based Broadband Internet Access.. 4 Satellite Based Broadband Internet Access. 4 ISDN Based Broadband Internet Access 5 Wireless Broadband Internet Access.. 5 Computing Infrastructure. 5 Real Estate and Office Services Infrastructure 5 Management Infrastructure for Telework in Alabama. 6 Governmental Infrastructure and Support for Telework in Alabama.. 6 Training and Consultant Suport for Telework Programs 7 Infrastructure Summary Telework Policy Issues.. 8 Policy Examples from the Federal Government, a University, and a Corporation 8 Policy Recommendations for Alabama Governments.. 8 Telework Incentives Policies in Other States... 9 Telework Policy Goals for Alabama K-12 and University Education Modules 11 K-12 Education Module University Education Module Telework Examples and Case Studies Good Examples of Telework Planning and Deployment Bad Example of Telework Planning and Deployment.. 14 A Tale of Two Workers in the Same Company 14 A Tale of One Company s Journey into the Modern World of Work Telework Showcase and Experiments iii

4 Showcase Planning Showcase/Testbed Deployed and Tested Results of the Showcase/Testbed Deployment Technology Research for Alabama Telework. 20 Overview of Technology Issues.. 20 Providing Broadband Capabilities to Rural Areas 20 Home Networks. 20 Network Security. 21 Firewalls Virtual Private Networks (VPN's). 22 Evaluating Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technologies.. 23 Other Areas for Telework Technology Research in Alabama Business Research for Alabama Telework. 25 Business Issues in Deploying a Successful Telework Program. 25 Managing Telework Employees Measuring Cost-Effectiveness of Teleworking 26 Management of Virtual Organizations How Telework is Redefining the Office 26 Additional Topics for Business Related Issues in Telework Alabama Economic Development Using Telework.. 28 Introduction 28 Ways Telework Can Help Economic Development in Alabama Transportation Specific Economic Development via Telework Other Economic Benefits of Telework Benefits of Telework. 30 Introduction 30 Economic development benefits Benefits to Alabama businesses The Social Benefits of Telework Benefits to Individuals and Families The Alabama Telework Initiative. 33 A Concept for ATI: The Alabama Telework Initiative. 33 Targeted Activities for ATI.. 34 A Delivery of Services Model for ATI.. 36 A Business Model for ATI Specific Recommendations for Telework Programs 37 Telework Recommendations. 37 Recommendations for Managing Telework.. 37 Recommendations for Using Technology in Telework. 37 iv

5 13.0 Project Conclusions and Recommendations 39 Conclusions 39 Recommendations Acknowledgements References. 41 Appendix A: List of Documents Produced by this Study.. 44 Appendix B: Telework Glossary 46 Appendix C: Telework Facts Appendix D: Directory of Alabama Telework Consultants 50 Appendix E: Telework and Telecommuting Organizations in Other States 51 v

6 Executive Summary This study was designed to determine the potential for telework to improve the effectiveness and safety of Alabama s transportation network. To accomplish this goal the authors collected and analyzed information relating to a wide range of telework. Alabama has a quality of lifestyle worth preserving but appears to be trailing much of the nation in adopting telework as an alternative to commuting. Because of the apparent lack of information on telework in Alabama the authors investigated an enormously broad array of topics rather than focusing on any one of them in depth so that they could quickly determine where the largest impacts could be made with limited resources. During this study the authors assessed the present infrastructure for telework in Alabama, assessed the present practice of telework in the state and the nation, identified and prioritized future activities to promote telework in the state, defined key topics for further research in areas unique to Alabama s telework needs, and documented the results in this report and on the Alabama Telework Initiative website. This study was not intended to be an academically rigorous and focused study on any one aspect of telework. Our goal was to quickly look at all aspects of telework and to find ways that Alabama could effectively use telework to improve its transportation system with minimum resources. Important results of this study include the following: 1. Alabama has a complete and competitive infrastructure for telework and telecommuting including telecommunications networks, computing resources, temporary office space, and educated workforces. Many Alabama jobs are teleworkable, at least on a part time basis, even in the state s manufacturing and service-oriented economy. 2. The potential to maintain and enhance the quality of life in Alabama with telework is much greater than in most other states because Alabama has not incurred enormous debt by building extensive mass transit systems. This gives Alabama an opportunity to leapfrog its economic competitors by basing more of its economy on falling computing and telecommunications costs rather than on increasing transportation and energy costs. 3. Telework in Alabama is held back by the lack of telework awareness, by the lack of public officials promotion of telework, by the lack of high-tech role model firms (in telecom, software, computing, etc.), and by the lack of a telework consulting and training infrastructure. Telework is further held back because high-tech companies in Alabama practice telework less than high-tech companies in other areas. 4. Telework programs are more likely to be deployed in Alabama by branch offices of national and international companies than by Alabama headquartered companies. Companies headquartered in the state are less likely to design effective telework programs. vi

7 5. Telework training for managers and teleworkers could dramatically boost the effectiveness of Alabama business and government in many respects, not just telework effectiveness. 6. Future research and deployment projects in telework in Alabama should focus on training management and teleworkers, and increasing telework awareness. 7. Telework is a low cost means for Alabama to prolong the effectiveness of its present transportation system and reduce maintenance costs. Telework allows more effective use of the state s transportation infrastructure to support retail and tourism. 8. Public policies and incentives could encourage telework and telecommuting in Alabama. Telework and flextime could significantly reduce traffic during the critical peak rush hour periods, particularly during the morning rush hour. 9. Telework fits Alabama culture and attitudes. Alabama is family-oriented, and telework is more family friendly. Alabama tops the list of drove alone commuters. Alabama culture values the freedom to go anywhere, anytime. Alabama workers value living in low-density semi-rural areas more than workers in other states, which increases commuting distances and times. These values make telework an attractive alternative for Alabama. 10. Transportation planners in other states often consider telework to be the lowest cost means to reduce traffic delays and to meet Federal Clean Air Act standards and to thus avoid cuts in Federal highway funds. 11. To the knowledge of the authors, telework has not been mentioned by public officials, agencies such as Clean Air Alabama, and private organizations such as AAA Alabama as a means to solve Alabama s transportation and environmental challenges, 12. Telework could be effectively encouraged through a statewide, multidisciplinary organization to promote telework and telecommuting. Toward this goal we have launched the Alabama Telework Initiative (ATI). This document is a brief summary of the research we have done on the Alabama Telework Initiative. A more complete representation of this work can be found on our telework web site at This web site has over 650 pages of original material. vii

8 Section 1 Introduction Introduction This study was completed to assess the state of and the infrastructure for telework in Alabama, to assess how Alabama compares with other states with respect to telework, and to make recommendations on how telework deployment could best be promoted and supported with limited resources to improve the transportation system of Alabama. Because of the broad scope of business and technical subjects that needed to be assessed and analyzed, no subject was thoroughly and exhaustively investigated. More than 25 research topics have been identified that could be investigated to support Alabama telework. Telework is often not considered in transportation planning. Yet a recent study by the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments identified telework as by far the most cost effective means to avoid traffic backups. (Schreffler) Computer models project that for every additional 3% of commuters who work from home on a given day, traffic delays could be cut by 10%. (Shaver) This report represents only a tiny fraction of the information produced in this study and does present the results of any area in depth. Appendix A of this document contains a list of the documents produced by this study that can be found at the Alabama Telework Initiative website. These documents are also available from the authors in paper and electronic form. What is Telework? Telework is broadly defined as doing work outside the traditional workplace. Teleworkers may work at home, on the road while traveling, at a customer s site, or many other places. The stereotypical vision of telework is a worker working at home five days a week for an employer whose location is in the same metropolitan area as the worker s home. This vision is seldom the case in the real world of telework. Workers are more likely to telework part time, and are likely to report to an organization in another city or even another country. Some teleworkers may still commute to their traditional workplace every day and use telework to avoid rush hour traffic. Other teleworkers may work at home several days a week and have meetings at the traditional workplace with co-workers one or two days per week. Another stereotype of telework is that of a knowledge worker (a worker who deals primarily with the collection, processing, and analysis of information) working at a nontraditional site using computers, telephones, pagers, etc. This is often the case, but again, it does not apply to all teleworkers. Telework has the potential to improve the lives of workers, to make the enterprise more efficient and productive, and to deload transportation systems, particularly during crucial rush hour periods. This in turn can save transportation costs, both capital and maintenance, and make present transportation facilities safer and more effective. The term telework is used throughout this report rather than the term telecommute because there is a connotation that telecommuting is a substitute for commuting (assuming that a commute would put the worker in the ideal workplace the traditional workplace), when in fact 1

9 the telework location may be a much more productive work site for the task at hand than the traditional work site. The terms associated with telework are confusing and some of them are misleading. Some of these terms are defined in the Telework Glossary found in Appendix B of this document. Some facts about telework can be found in Appendix C. Methods of Conducting this Study Managers and workers were interviewed at about 30 companies and government organizations in Alabama, about 10 companies in Denver, about 10 companies in the Atlanta area, about 10 companies in the east coast area, and about 10 companies in the San Jose area. These managers, workers, and companies are not identified in order that we may present the results unedited and present both the positive and negative aspects of their telework programs and management techniques. More detailed follow-on work needs to be done to evaluate the state of telework in Alabama relative to other states, and this report identified a number of areas for investigation. The authors recommend that a web-based survey may be the most cost effective way to proceed, particularly if such a web based survey is combined with a broader study of Alabama transportation alternatives. 2

10 Section 2 Telework Snapshot Report for Alabama Introduction A goal of this telework research project was to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the infrastructure in Alabama to support telework. The infrastructure consists of telecommunications and computing infrastructure, real estate infrastructure such as shared/temporary office space with various services, and most importantly, and the infrastructure of telework management techniques and the related telework consulting and training infrastructure. Management techniques for the effective management of telework come from corporate training, telework consultants, and prior experience with managing successful telework programs. Telecommunications, computing and real estate infrastructure may or may not be required for a particular telework program, but management skills and employee education are always required. The last type of infrastructure evaluated for Alabama was the representation that telework has on governmental bodies at the state, county, metropolitan, and local levels, and the public support given to telework by Alabama officials as solutions to transportation, pollution, and other quality of life problems. Telecommunications, Computing and Real Estate Infrastructure Narrowband Internet Access Alabama was found to have a competitive infrastructure of narrowband Internet access across the state, both wired and wireless. The wireless narrowband voice and Internet access is particularly strong because of the presence of SouthernLINC, a subsidiary of Alabama Power and the Southern Company. This network was developed to support power line monitoring throughout Alabama. This network provides cell phone coverage throughout almost the entire state, whereas most other states have coverage only along major highways and in metropolitan areas. The only major weakness in narrowband Internet access over wired telephone lines is in rural areas where additional lines may not be available, and modem connections are often slower in rural areas than in urban and suburban areas because of the long loop lengths. This means that modems may be more likely to connect at speeds around 28.8 kilobits/second in rural areas instead of speeds approaching 56 kilobits/second typical in urban and suburban areas. Broadband Internet Access Telephony Based Digital Subscriber Loop Based Broadband Internet Access. A map was obtained from BellSouth Communications of the high-speed Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Loop (ADSL) coverage for Alabama. Although it is impressive in the extent of its coverage, BellSouth requested that it not be published because coverage is constantly being extended by BellSouth and there is no way to synchronize the Alabama Telework Initiative website and this document with the latest coverage map available from BellSouth. The BellSouth ADSL coverage is particularly impressive in that it covers almost every county in the State. This includes nearly all of the counties in central and west central Alabama, which includes some of the poorest counties in the nation. Less than 10% of the families in these counties have computers, much less Internet access. An examination of the BellSouth ADSL 3

11 coverage map definitely shows that BellSouth has not skimmed off the top markets where a significant fraction of consumers are likely to buy ADSL and ignored the rest of the state. ADSL, whether provided by BellSouth or one of the independent telephone companies of Alabama, provides a downstream (toward the home or business) of typically 768 kilobit per second (kb/s) or 1.5 megabits per second (Mb/s) and an upstream rate in the range of 64 kb/s to 256 kb/s. This is very adequate for most telework applications, but the much slower upstream rate does not support a web server with high output capability on an ADSL link. It further limits the usefulness of doing regular high-speed network backup of large amounts of data from a home telework environment. The cost of ADSL is typically $40 to $50 per month depending on the speed of service in most parts of Alabama. Some organizations and teleworkers prefer ADSL to cable modems because each subscriber has a dedicated unshared path back to the central office. With cable modems, the traffic from all customers in a neighborhood is mixed together on the same coaxial cable and someone with a custom-built spy termination could spy on their neighbor s data. ADSL guarantees unshared bandwidth in both directions, whereas cable modem traffic carrying speed depends on the activity of neighbors sharing the same coaxial cable. CATV Cable Modem Based Broadband Internet Access. Cable modem broadband Internet access provides performance similar to ADSL provided by BellSouth and the independent telephone companies. Typical providers in Alabama are Charter Communications and AT&T Broadband. A relatively complete list of cable modem providers is available on the Alabama Telework Initiative website. The cost is roughly $40-$50 per month. Charter Communications recently upgraded much of their Pipeline high-speed cable modem based Internet access service in Alabama to a 3 Mb/s downlink speed. The service supports telework very well, but billing is sometimes a problem. When purchased as part of a special discount package (for example, with digital cable and one or more premium channels) the overall cost can be very attractive, but if the individual is paying for the cable television service and the individual s employer is paying for the cable modem service, vouchering is a problem because the bill does not break out the individual costs. A summary of cable modem based Internet access in Alabama can be found on the Alabama Telework Initiative website (cter.eng.uab.edu/telework). Satellite Based Broadband Internet Access. Satellite broadband Internet access is particularly interesting because of Alabama s rural areas and the universal availability of satellite Internet access. Because of a recent ruling of the FCC, the small satellite dishes required for satellite broadband Internet access (as well as satellite television access) cannot be banned by local ordinances or covenants. If a teleworker has access to the southwestern equatorial sky unblocked by buildings or trees, there is universal Broadband Internet access in Alabama. This service can experience outages in heavy rainstorms. Rainstorms in Alabama are often heavy but brief. The cost for this service is typically more than cable modems of ADSL and perhaps about $70 per month for an equivalent speed service. Like ADSL and cable modems, satellite Internet access provides much slower uplink speeds. ISDN Based Broadband Internet Access. Telephone companies such as BellSouth and independent telephone companies offer broadband Internet service on unshielded twisted pair 4

12 (UTP) wires, the most common wires of the telephone loop plant. These services, called ISDN for the Integrated Services Digital Network, comprise basic rate services of two 64 kb/s channels (an ISDN Basic Rate Interface BRI connection) or a 1.5 Mb/s ISDN Primary Rate Interface (PRI connection). Typically, this service costs several times as much as ADSL or a cable modem, but the advantage is that it is symmetrical and an Internet server can support outgoing traffic much better than ADSL or a cable modem. This is because the upstream bandwidth is much higher. A telework-supporting employer might typically use a PRI connection to connect a file server, web server, or mail server to the Internet. Wireless Broadband Internet Access. Areas of Alabama including Birmingham and Huntsville recently received wireless broadband Internet access. This is typically somewhat short of true 3G (third generation) wireless access, but is usually around 144 kb/s, much higher than the typical 9600 or bits/s connection of ordinary cell phones with web access. These broadband wireless services support the concept of work from anywhere. Computing Infrastructure Alabama offers competitive services for the sales and maintenance of computing hardware and software needed for telework. Real Estate and Office Services Infrastructure A search using the Search Office Space website indicated that facilities for shared/temporary/telework centers were available only in Birmingham and Huntsville. The facilities in Birmingham and Huntsville were competitive with respect to facilities and prices relative to others in the nation. These facilities are designed to give teleworkers a temporary place to meet with each other or with customers, and to give traveling workers a more robust base of operations than a hotel room. Typical facilities offered include: 24 hour access Air conditioning Alarm or manned security Audio visual presentation equipment Business / accountancy services Car parking CAT 5 cabling or CAT 6 cabling for broadband internet access Catering facilities / refreshments / kitchen facilities CCTV security Disabled facilities Cable TV and cable modem Internet access Elevators for people and equipment Lounge area Manned reception Meeting rooms / boardrooms / conference rooms Modem + ISDN + Broadband + Leased line + ADSL Office furniture Personalized telephone answering Photocopying and faxing (possibly color) Postal services Secretarial and administrative facilities Secure LAN connections Touchdown facility Video conferencing Voic and/or message taking service 5

13 Management Infrastructure for Telework in Alabama A number of informative interviews were conducted with teleworkers from government and private industry as well as those involved in the management of telework in these organizations. These interviews were conducted in Alabama and other states as previously discussed. We also studied management skills that are necessary to deploy a successful telework program (Nilles 1998). For the most part, these are the same skills that are necessary to manage a competitive enterprise using management by objectives techniques. Traditional organizations perceive themselves as a building where workers arrive at 8 or 9 am and begin to work on whatever the management deems appropriate for that day. In organizations managed using modern management by objectives techniques, each employee does what is most effective for attaining the goals of the organization according to a long-range plan, and each employee is measured on how well they accomplish the goals of this plan. The employee can be at any work site, including at home, on an airplane, in a hotel, or at a customer s site, in order to accomplish these goals. The authors found that some Alabama employers had implemented modern management by objectives techniques but had not implemented flextime and telework programs. The authors found that states with the most aggressive telework programs have an infrastructure of high-tech firms leading the way. These firms are typically in the computer, data networking, telecommunications, software, and microelectronics industries. In Alabama, these types of firms are found in the highest numbers in the Huntsville area. In Birmingham and in other major Alabama cities, these types of firms are often represented only by sales and service offices. These offices typically use telework and telecommuting to a large extent, particularly if they are branches of national or international firms. We found that branches of high-tech USA-based and European based firms were very likely to employ telework and telecommuting techniques, whereas firms headquartered in Alabama and other parts of the world outside North America and Europe were the least likely to employ telework and flextime programs. They were also the least likely to deploy successful telework programs. The business mix of Birmingham is tilted toward medical services, manufacturing, and financial services. These industries are typically conservatively managed and among the last industries to deploy telework and telecommuting programs. We were able to find, however, a number of small and medium sized firms in Birmingham that have aggressive telework programs. While Atlanta was forcibly and permanently moved into the world of telework by the Olympics and chronic traffic problems (Kanell), Birmingham and other Alabama cities are still not with the program, even after the dramatic destruction of much of the I-65/I-59 interchange in downtown Birmingham in early 2002 that caused a disruption of normal work schedules. While this disruption did initiate some telework, perhaps this disruption was too localized to cause permanent paradigm shifts in telework and commuting in Birmingham. Governmental Infrastructure and Support for Telework in Alabama Alabama is one of about a dozen states without: A funded organization to promote telework Representation for telework on state transportation planning organizations Government supported financial incentives for telework 6

14 Additionally, the authors could find no instance in which an elected or appointment Alabama official suggested telework as an alternative to traditional commuting to work to solve transportation, pollution, or quality of life problems. Alabama s most visible agency promoting clean air, Alabama Partners for Clean Air, has made no known mention of telework and its potential to reduce air pollution on their web site, Training and Consultant Support for Telework Programs The authors found no consultant networks for telework support or telework training programs available for hire or within companies in Alabama. There were no resources or organizations for companies and governmental organizations to share effective solutions to telework problems in Alabama and no venues for providers of telework technology solutions to collectively showcase their solutions. These are major voids that are holding back telework in Alabama. Infrastructure Summary Telecommunications facilities in Alabama are competitive with any state in the nation. Although there are some areas that offer more advanced features such as wireless Internet and 3G (third generation) wireless Internet access, the traffic loading of Alabama s communication facilities is far lighter than that found in other areas having more advanced capabilities and features. These areas include San Jose, Seattle, and New York City, for example. Alabama has far better wireless coverage than most states because of the presence of SouthernLINC. This wireless service covers essentially the entire state, not just the metropolitan areas and the areas along major highways. Broadband Internet is available across Alabama. Alabama has real estate support for telework, particularly in the Birmingham and Huntsville areas. The major voids in telework infrastructure support for telework in Alabama are in the areas of training and consulting support for telework. These outages are being corrected through the resources produced by this research study and the launching of the Alabama Telework Initiative (ATI), a statewide initiative to be discussed in Section 11 of this report. The ATI is developing training programs for businesses and governmental agencies and these programs will soon be ready to deploy at the customer s site or at central locations at Alabama universities and public facilities. A Telework Consultant Directory was prepared as part of this research study and is included in Appendix D. 7

15 Section 3 Telework Policy Issues Policy Examples from the Federal Government, a University, and a Corporation The US Department of Defense (DOD) has issued a comprehensive policy for telework that basically rules that each employee of a DOD contractor will be allowed to telework unless the contracting company can give reason to show why telework would not be appropriate. This will no doubt have an impact on portions of Alabama, particularly in the Huntsville area. (Department of Defense Telework Policy website) The University of Washington in Seattle has issued a telework policy for its professional and classified staff employees (University of Washington telework policy at the UW web site). AT&T has issued a valuable resource document for sample policies with private companies (Allenby and Roitz at the AT&T web site). This document outlines the savings that a corporation can realize in a number of categories ranging from training to real estate by the implementation of an effective telework program. It also documents the amount of money that can be saved per employee by investing in broadband connectivity for some types of workers. AT&T s latest estimate released in 2003 is $5000 per teleworker per year in savings using broadband Internet connectivity versus voice band modem Internet connectivity. ( Policy Recommendations for Alabama Governments Telework can significantly improve the quality of life and economic opportunities in Alabama for everyone, not just those who telework. Telework programs can be implemented at the worker and first level manager levels, but the most effective programs with the biggest impacts on society are those with top management support, public policy support, and public financial incentives. Many states including Colorado, Virginia, Washington, Maryland, and Georgia have promoted strong telework programs by supporting policies similar to the following generalized policies. The following are sample policies that might be supported in Alabama Public officials and environmental groups could encourage telework. Telework could be represented in all forums that consider transportation policy. Companies and other organizations that support telework could receive financial incentives. Incentives for telework might include subsidies for computing and telecommunications equipment used for telework, as well as fees for telecom and network services. Equipment subsidies might be for home computers, home networks, home network termination equipment such as DSL and cable modems, fax machines, copiers, scanners, telephone equipment, laptop computers, PDA s (portable digital assistants), printers, antennas, satellite dishes, etc. Service subsidies might include monthly charges for digital subscriber lines (DSL), cable modems, and satellite Internet access; charges for telephone services whether used for voice or baseband modems; and cell phone charges. 8

16 Public policy could encourage the deployment of telework/telecommuting services that effectively support telework across all parts of Alabama. This could include both wired and wireless services. Tax breaks and other financial incentives should be given to businesses that offer employees flextime. Flextime is often a precursor to telework and also helps to deload Alabama s transportation system during critical rush hour periods. Childcare opportunities similar to those provided to non-teleworking employers could be offered to teleworkers. Telework Incentives Policies in Other States In Virginia the telework!va program provides financial incentives for businesses to start or expand a formal telework program - up to $35,000 per company and $3,500 per employee, for the cost of telecommuting-related equipment, answering machines, fax machines, modems, and webcams. Administered through the Department of Rail and Public Transportation by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, this new capital match program provides monetary incentives for telework arrangements from both home and telework centers. Technical assistance and training are also provided to help develop and implement a successful customized telework program. Participating business sites must be a private for-profit business enterprise or non-profit organization classified as such under Section 501(c) of the Federal Internal Revenue Code and located in northern Virginia. Priority is given to the counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William, Stafford, Spotsylvania and the cities of Alexandria, Falls Church, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Manassas and Manassas Park. Applicants must have a minimum of 20 employees working from the northern Virginia site. Participating telework employees must be Virginia residents. Other states including California, Oregon, New Jersey, and Arizona have aggressive tax funded incentive programs for telework. Other states have recognized the advantages of telecommuting and have built incentives into legislation to increase its use: Oregon offers a 35 percent state tax credit and low-interest loans for equipment to businesses that enable telecommuting for their workers. State agencies are required to promote smart commuting to reduce the number of vehicle miles traveled. New Jersey provides corporate business tax and gross income tax credits for employers that allow employees to telecommute. California voters recently passed a state antipollution bill that includes incentives for telework. Some states like Arizona have laws requiring state government agencies to allow some workers to telecommute and other states like Massachusetts have laws that permit some state government agencies to allow some workers to telecommute. States such as Arizona, Connecticut, Maryland, Oregon, Washington and others have either mandated that a percentage of their workforce work from their respective homes or are providing tax and other incentives for employer sponsored alternative work programs. California, Colorado, Georgia, Minnesota, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Virginia, and many individual counties (like Fairfax County, Virginia) and cities (like Austin, Texas and Washington D.C.) are 9

17 likewise in the process of encouraging and implementing alternative work options within their jurisdictions for the betterment of their citizens and expanding economic opportunities. Telework Policy Goals for Alabama The authors offer the following draft goals that could possibly be adopted as goals of telework policy in Alabama: Physically and mentally challenged workers should be given appropriate opportunities when possible to improve their lives through telecommuting without unduly isolating them. Telecommuting workers should have the same opportunities for promotion, raises, etc. that non-telecommuting workers have. Alabama should ensure adequate financial incentives are in place to make telework more attractive to businesses. Alabama should strive to make it possible through the development of new technologies and policies that blue collar hands-on workers have maximum telework opportunities, not just knowledge workers. This may be accomplished through the use of part-time telework. For example, a maintenance worker might spend one day a week at home ordering parts. Alabama should work toward an environment in which modern telecommunications technologies are deployed, particularly in the last mile and home networks. This will include ensuring that Alabama is a leader in deploying optical fiber and broadband wireless networks to homes and businesses, and deploying high-speed wireless Internet capabilities. Alabama has a competitive telecommunications infrastructure. No catch up is necessary here, just a focus on the future to keep up and continue to display leadership. Alabama should strive to strengthen the infrastructure for teleworking from rural areas. This is already feasible because of the widespread availability of electricity, telephone service, and satellite Internet service in rural areas. Policy could reduce the differences in broadband Internet access and its costs between rural and urban areas. Policy could also reduce the difficulty in obtaining additional analog telephone lines in some areas, particularly in rural areas. Alabama should ensure that minority communities have equal access to telework jobs and support facilities. 10

18 K-12 Education Module Section 4 K-12 and University Education Modules As part of this research program, a comprehensive preschool and K-12 curriculum development model was prepared. William Jett, a UAB graduate student, accomplished this with help from Gary Grimes. To the researchers knowledge, this curriculum is unique and is the first comprehensive curriculum developed to teach telework skills in primary and secondary schools. A publication style paper called A Publication Formatted Paper on a Telework Curriculum for K-12 Schools can be found on the Alabama Telework Initiative web site. This document was authored by William Jett and Gary Grimes. This paper is expected to be presented at a national telework conference as well as a national education conference to obtain considerable exposure for Alabama s work in telework. The authors believe that this work is a first and that a curriculum to support telework has not been developed elsewhere. Additional documentation is available on one of our telework web sites ( Additional documents include: Telework Short Course for Universities, Governments, and Businesses, by William Jett, 22 slide Power Point presentation Benefits and Challenges of Telework, by William Jett, 4 page report A Preschool and K-12 Curriculum Development Guide, by William Jett, 89 page report The authors are presently working to find appropriate conferences and journals for presentation of these presentations and papers. University Education Module An education module, which can be used interchangeably as a module for university students, businesses, governmental agencies, and individual teleworkers, was developed by William Jett. This education module is called A Telework Short Course for University Students, Businesses, and Government Agencies. It is available on the Alabama Telework Initiative website. 11

19 Section 5 Telework Examples and Case Studies Good Examples of Telework Planning and Deployment Examples of real telecommuters seldom follow the stereotypical model of someone telecommuting on a full-time basis rather than driving across town. The following examples show that there may be few typical teleworkers. The following are real examples of teleworkers known to one or more of the authors of this document, but their names are changed for the purposes of this report and their companies are not identified: Sheila and Steve were senior microelectronic integrated circuit design engineers and managers at a large telecommunications company in the Denver, Colorado area. When this large company moved the division to Asia, Sheila and Steve found work at a microelectronics company in Ft. Collins, Colorado. This location was 50 miles from their previous work and further yet from their homes. They lived in different parts of the Denver area and could not conveniently carpool. Their solution was to telework on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays and to drive to Ft. Collins on Wednesdays and Thursdays for regularly scheduled meetings and design reviews with other microelectronic engineers. When major snowstorms were forecast for Wednesdays and Thursdays, making driving hazardous, they rescheduled the meetings to another day of the week or increased their number of telework days. Robert is a Denver, Colorado telecommunications consultant. He and five associates comprise a consultant firm that had office space for many years in Boulder, Colorado. None of the associates lived near the office and their typical commute was well over an hour. Robert and his five associates traveled extensively, and the commute from their office in Boulder to the Denver Airport, was about 1.5 hours each way. All of them lived closer to the airport than the office in Boulder. In the year 2000, Dick and his associates decided to telework from their homes and closed their Boulder office. Since they already had telework equipment at their homes, this resulted in a savings of $15,000 per month for their office space. This money was moved directly to their bottom line and divided among the six associates, giving each an average effective raise of $2500 per month. The benefits included no commute time to the office, and less commute time to the Denver airport. Members of their support staff are also teleworkers and this has resulted in better retention. Jeff was a patent attorney at a major telecommunications corporation in the north Denver area until he accepted an early retirement package in the year Jeff still wanted to work full time but opportunities did not exist in the Denver. Jeff found an attractive full time job with a large computer company in Ft. Collins. Since the highway between Denver and Ft. Collins was overcrowded on normal days (27 fatalities were recorded in a three month period in 2002 in a ten mile stretch) and treacherous in winter storms, a fiveday/week commute was not attractive. Jeff solved the problem by teleworking and writing patent applications at home three days per week and driving to Ft. Collins two days per week to scheduled meetings with inventors. These two days are flexible, but Mondays and Fridays, the two peak traffic days were avoided. In order to prepare and prosecute patent applications, he uses a legal assistant who lives in Montana. Jeff primarily uses to communicate with his assistant in Montana. 12

20 Sherry, Kim, and Luke run a healthcare software company in the south Birmingham, AL metro area. To put their resources into product development and sales, they operate out of their homes. They outsourced their software and hardware development. When they need to do a product demonstration they transport a demo system to a customer s location and typically leave it installed for several weeks at the customer s site. This provides a lot of exposure for their products. The three associates have computers in their homes for contacting customers and generating sales and product specification documents. They keep in touch every day using cell phones so that they stay connected when they are picking up children at school, running errands, etc. Nick is a sales representative and applications engineer covering the Rocky Mountain area, principally the Denver-Boulder-Ft. Collins area for a large international electronic components company. He has an office at the sales and service location of his company in south Denver and he has a home office in the north Denver area. Since most of his customers are within a five to ten minute drive of his home, and his office at his company s location is over an hour away, serving them from his home is far better. Nick has a telephone system that attempts to locate him no matter where he is so that customers only have to remember one number for him. Scott has worked as a sales representative for a major telecommunications equipment manufacturer in Birmingham, AL for about a decade. Until 1996, a local manager managed the sales office and the administrative support staff was provided locally. Each sales person reported to the local manager. Since 1996, each person has reported to a manager in his or her division outside of Birmingham and the office has had no local manager. The sales office recently moved to a much smaller facility. Now all the sales people work from their homes, so office space is needed only when members of the sales team meet with each other or with customers. Each sales person has a single telephone number that is connected to a smart call routing system that "finds them" and directs a call to their present telephone number including mobile phones. Network support for telephone and computing platforms is provided via a national 800 number to a call center. These changes have dramatically improved the cost structure of the sales office, and have made commuting a thing of the past except when the sales people need to drive directly from their homes to a customer site. Ed was an electrical engineer, systems architect, and circuit designer for a large telecommunications equipment firm in Denver. In 1995 Ed was offered a transfer and a promotion to an organization with the same company in Chicago. Having grown up in the Chicago area, he knew he didn t like the lifestyle and climate of Chicago. He proposed that he move to Las Vegas, and report to the Chicago organization. This was acceptable to the company so he made the transfer and moved to Las Vegas. His wife Ann was a financial consultant with a large bank in Chicago and she moved to Las Vegas, but kept her job with the bank in Chicago. Six months after he began reporting to the Chicago organization, Ed was transferred to an organization near Boston with the same company, but he remained in Las Vegas. Ed visited Chicago and Boston some, but more often traveled to visit his company s locations in Europe. The Las Vegas location suited him better health wise and it offered consistently low airfares to anywhere in the world. Ed and Ann built a home in Las Vegas with suitable offices and a secure broadband wireless network to allow them to enjoy their pool while working. They found they could simultaneously access their companies virtual private networks over this common 13

21 connection. This is a good example of how companies can retain good workers and keep them happy and productive over long careers, and support dual career couples. Bryan worked part time at a software research and development company in Boulder while he attended the University of Colorado. When he graduated in 2000, he decided to attend graduate school at the University of Washington in Seattle. He remained an employee of the Boulder software company and teleworked from Seattle for a year after he moved to Seattle. This allowed him to complete his project and publish several research papers on his work at international conferences for the benefit of the Boulder company and himself. Norm was a fiber optics engineer at a large optical fiber company in the Atlanta, GA area until his retirement. After retirement, he wanted to work full time since he was only in his mid-50s, but he did not wish to move. Norm quickly found a full time job with a Japanese manufacturer of cabling systems. Norm now lives in the same house in suburban Atlanta and works full time for his new employer in Japan. He travels to Japan once every two to three months for meetings with his boss and co-workers, and also travels to international standards meetings in North America and Europe for his employer. Norm says that he could do his job with less travel, but he enjoys the travel and his company is willing to pay for it. A Bad Example of Telework Planning and Deployment Claudette, Vern, and Tanya were customer service workers at a large financial services company in downtown Birmingham. Their employer selected them for a trial telework program. They were selected strictly on the basis of their job function, which could be easily performed from their homes because they were on the telephone constantly with customers. Call center software was available to route the calls to their homes. All three had less than average motivation and job performance, and none had good skills in communicating with management and staying in touch. When the telework program was started, they were not given training and received old computers to take home for their work. Similarly, their management did not have training in managing a telework program. Their salaries were cut to compensate for lower commuting costs and clothing. This totally demotivated them. All three eventually lost their jobs because of poor performance reviews and the company concluded that telework did not work. A Tale of Two Workers in the Same Company Jack and Bob are technical representatives of two divisions of a large Japanese firm and they both represent similar product lines in the USA. Bob s division understands the power of telework and when they hired Bob, they let him pick his spot in the USA to live and work. He picked the Charlotte, NC area because of family and climate considerations. Bob is very happy with his job and life and plans a long career with the company. Charlotte is a major air hub so Bob has good access to travel. Like Jack, none of Bob s customers are near each other, but rather are scattered randomly throughout the USA. Jack has worked for the company for many years but unfortunately his division is not telework oriented. In fact, his division management in Japan believes US representatives of Japanese companies need to be in New York City, even though he has no customers in or near New York City. Jack spends about 22 hours per week commuting between his home in New Jersey and his office in Manhattan. He never eats dinner with his wife and daughter on weekdays and they are usually gone to other 14