Technical Challenges Still Hinder Remote Access

Although remote access has improved greatly over the past five years, it is still not reaching its full potential because of many factors:

Broadband access is still sparse. The ideal remote access solution is one in which remote users have the same connection speed as their office-based counterparts. Today, this is far from common: even DSL and cable modem connections (from about .3Mbps to 1.5Mbps) are much slower than the Ethernet (10Mbps) or Fast Ethernet (100Mbps) data rates available in the office. The majority of remote users still have access to only a single analog telephone line using a modem that rarely achieves more than 40Kbps. Making matters worse, the modem connection also blocks both inbound and outbound voice communications. Although it is still possible to get work done with this arrangement, remote users can be far more productive with a dedicated broadband connection, such as DSL. The United States has made the most progress in this area, but even there broadband coverage is not extensive. At the rate that telephone and cable companies are adding service, it will probably take several more years before most U.S. urban and suburban areas have broadband coverage, and much longer in the rest of the word. Fortunately for road warriors, many of the larger U.S. and international hotel chains are beginning to wire rooms for Internet access, and high-bandwidth service should become widely available over the next few years.