Wi-Ex, a company that sells cell phone signal boosters, would like you to know it did its part for Telework Day last week. It'll be nice when Hallmark has a "Happy Telework Day" card, this reporter seems to have let it slip by this year.
The company - Wi-Ex, not Hallmark - started teleworking on a trial basis earlier this year with select departments. According to the zBoost "State of the Cell Signal Survey" commissioned by Wi-Ex and conducted by Harris Interactive (
News -
Alert), 31 percent of employed cell phone owners spend at least some time teleworking, or working from home, each week.
"We started allowing select departments the option to telework earlier this year and have been happy with the results," said Lloyd Meese, CEO of Wi-Ex, said in a statement. He explained that the company selected departments "that make the most sense," and it has worked well "in both our marketing and accounting departments."
"Our employees enjoy the flexibility of teleworking and being based in Atlanta they look forward to not having to worry about one of the nation's worst commutes," Meese said. The man is telling the truth: Atlanta ranks second in the nation for worst commutes, according to Atlantacommute.com, which estimates commuting costs Atlantans 60 hours a year.
There are issues, of course. The zBoost "State of the Cell Signal" Survey found that 38 percent of teleworkers experience cell phone service problems while teleworking, including poor signal reception or dead zones in their home - 26 percent - and 21 percent reported dropped calls.
Wi-Ex introduced its personal cell phone signal booster, zBoost zPersonal, two years ago, according to
reporting at the time from TMCnet’s Patrick Barnard. The device "captures and amplifies the 800MHz signal or the 1900MHz bands for improved cell phone signal at home, the office or on the go. It comes in both wired and wireless models and is designed to sit on a desk or hang in a window bracket included," the report said.
Telework Day is a joint project by the Telework Exchange, Telework VA and Virginia government officials.
"My commute is 22 miles one day, and on a good day it takes me between 20 and 30 minutes, but with rain or high traffic it can take up to an hour each way," said Sharon Cuppett, Wi-Ex vice president of marketing in a statement. She said that her marketing team "all telework one day a week, and I found that myself as well as my team are often more productive on those days."
Technology considered "extremely or very important" for successful teleworking included computer at 88 percent, high speed Internet at 84 percent, and landline at 38 percent. Coffee makers, no doubt, scored highly, as well.
Follow ITEXPO (News - Alert) on Twitter: twitter.com/itexpo
David Sims is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of David’s articles, please visit his columnist page. He also blogs for TMCnet here.
Edited by
Amy Tierney
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