FCC Seeks Comment on Telework

The Federal Communications Commission is seeking public comment on telework as part of the National Broadband Plan. The FCC would like to know 1) how broadband increases the effectiveness of telework, 2) how telework programs help attract jobs or companies to economically struggling areas, and 3) what of private, public, and non-profit entities have telework programs.

Matt Warner writes, "Telework isn't just about providing a benefit to employees. Rather, telework seems to benefit workers, employers, and society as a whole. Case studies from the Government Accountability Office and the Patent and Trademark Office suggest that telework provides needed flexibility for an organization and its staff in emergencies while being greener for the environment. Despite these and other potential advantages of telework and broadband's ever-expanding ability to make work geographically irrelevant, not being physically "there" may not yet be societally "there.""

Comments are due September 22, 2009.