Videoconference and Telework

Resumen

Since a few years, advanced videoconferencing systems such as telepresence have resembled quite well the feeling of being in a remote place. With recent progress in the availability of ultrabroadband, the possibility of using these systems has been extended to even more premises. Telcos traditionally have offered managed telepresence systems for their corporate customers, but now the frontier between telepresence and High‐Definition videoconference is blurring, making it available even for residential customers. In this sense, telco Comcast partnered with over‐the‐top player Skype but closed the service afterward without managing to attract customers willing to pay for the service.A key use case of videoconferencing at home is telework, for which videoconference is a key enabler. Telework offers benefits for employees (save time and money, improve life quality), employers (save office costs, improve productivity), and society (positive impact on the environment). However, a change of mind‐set is needed, and although regulation can foster it (e.g., in United Kingdom all workers have the right to request telework), cultural barriers by employers hinder its broader adoption. Many telcos offer telework services to their enterprise customers, especially in those countries where it is available for civil servants in public sector.