Telework Part 2: What You Need

ISPs choosing to offer telework need to understand the needs of their new, valuable customers.

by Alex Goldman ISP-Planet Managing Editor [September 1, 2006]

So you've decided to offer a home office package. What will a teleworker need?

John Edwards, chairman of the Washington, D.C-based Telework Coalition, has a quick checklist for the prospective teleworker—or their service provider. (Naturally, we reach him at home.)

"Health and safety always come first. The office should have fire and smoke alarms. Because of the very nature of an office, you will have many combustibles and pieces of electrical equipment—sometimes a lethal combination. Also, if your office is in the basement, you should get a Radon gas test kit from your hardware store and check for Radon. You will be spending many hours down there." (Here's an EPA page on the Radon hazard.)

Next, you need to make sure that your home office's electrical circuit can handle the load you'll place on it. "Get your home office's electrical circuit checked. You're about to add to its load, and to use it longer at the increased load. I've got a radio, a TV, two lamps, a shredder, a copier, a printer, a computer (with monitor and speakers), cable modem, VoIP modem, cell phone charger, and a cordless phone."

Chuck Wilsker, president of the Telework Coalition (reached separately at his home office) points out that some home offices today use VoIP. An ISP that offers a bundle that includes VoIP may have an advantage, especially if the bundle incldues online backup service for home office files.

"Additionally, if ISPs are relatively distant from conurbations that might be subject to terrorist and weather threats, they could promote themselves in those areas as a secure remote backup location," says Edwards.

New York's tax problem
Wilsker says employees whose employer is in New York State are at a disadvantage. They risk facing double taxation even if they telework outside New York State.

The State of New York will tax anyone who visits the NY offices, imposing income tax on the entire year's wages "even if they just set foot in their New York office once on December 30th," Wilsker warns. See the article Telecommuter From Tennessee Found Subject to New York Tax from the New York Law Journal.

The Telework Coalition is behind a national law that would standardize the rules for all states and override New York's double taxationlaw. Wilsker says that the law was particularly burdensome to the Tennessee resident because Tennessee is one of several states that impose no income tax on their residents.

"We see telework as a broadband availability issue," says Wilsker. "We're addressing what I consider to be mom and apple pie issues: bringing employment opportunities to stay-at-home parents, those in rural and tribal areas, retirees, and those with disabilities."

When the employer decides to move to telework
ISPs can eventually develop a skill set, helping employers set up telework programs. "If you have a large organization and people are working from home offices, or you have a nationwide sales force based out of home offices, there might be hundreds of ISPs involved. How do we know whether cable or DSL or Wi-Fi is available, or if only satellite is available? How do we organize connectivity? How do we handle the billing? Do we bill the organization, or bill each individual?"

The next article in this series will cover a company that has developed precisely this expertise.

— End

 

Telework Part 1: What it is and Why it Sells

>Telework Part 2: What You Need

Telework Part 3: iPass Sells a Telework Package

Telework Part 4: Jobs for Disabled Veterans