Secure and fast connections to collaboration and telephony tools require you have a solid Internet connection. Zoom requires its users to have 1.2 Mbps (upload/download) for 720p HD video calls. Microsoft Teams also necessitates users to have a minimum bandwidth of 1.2 Mbps (also both ways) for HD-quality video calls.
Assuming everyone has equal access to a strong Internet connection, this would imply that every video and voice call that happens goes off without any issues. This is not the case, and Rob Seymour, Marketing Director, VoIPstudio, told me in a recent interview that working from home has created a divide amongst those who work from home during the pandemic – between ones with good and those with poor connections. This has exposed an issue that he thinks could get fixed with intelligently built software.
“It was not a problem when we worked from home sometimes, but we don’t all have a uniform, consistent network connectivity. Today, many remote workers have poor quality, low-speed connections, which has a direct impact on their ability to interact in real-time with their colleagues, customers, and take part in group calls, etc”
Seymour said employers have a responsibility to outfit their workers with all the necessary and efficient tools to work from home. He added that cloud voice is an essential service that should operate with the least demand on the network. “This would ensure that they can access any third-party platform and ensure inclusion in all workplace activities.”
In the development process, Seymour says, this could mean developing a viable WebRTC-based solution for those who work from home and might not have the best Internet connection. “The technology is stable and proves a solid solution, even under the most extreme circumstances where poor internet quality is of concern.” VoIPstudio uses WebRTC in its mobile app and Google Chrome Extension as well. Google is the pioneer of the technology, debuting it back in 2007.
Seymour concluded, stating any player in today’s market must optimize its software to work in the most extreme of network environments. “When you plan for a distributed workforce, you need to take into account the needs of everybody, and customers need a service that will be reliable and consistent wherever they are,” he noted.
Research from Utility Bidder, which surveyed 1,000 UK workers, found that employees in the UK market believe they do not have the appropriate equipment to work from home. A total of 45 percent of respondents say they do not feel they have the proper support from their employer. A third stated there was only a ‘little’ support, with thirteen percent of those who responded stating they had no support at all.
Noting that the sample size is not representative of the total UK population, it is noteworthy to add that over three-quarters (76 percent) of respondents said they had stable home Internet connection pre-lockdown, with 20 percent saying they gained access to a stable connection after the lockdown. The number of employees who said they do not have access to reliable internet was four percent. That same survey also found that eleven percent of people questioned did not have access to remote work software.
