A "Cable Modem" is a device that allows high speed data access (such as to the Internet) via a cable TV (CATV) network. A cable modem will a connection to the cable wall outlet and the other to a computer (PC).On-line access via cable modems will allow us to download info at a speed 1,000 times faster than today's fastest telephone modems. In 1.2 seconds, you can download data that today takes 20 minutes to transfer via phone manufacturers' products. Cable modem speeds range from 500Kbps to 10Mbps. So if your modem operates at about 14,000 bits per second, the slowest cable modems operate up to 500,000 bits per second.Hardware companies are presently developing 30Mbps cable modems which are thousands of times faster than 14.4 telephone modems. There are several methods for computer connection, but it appears that Ethernet 10BaseT is emerging as the most predominant method. Although it probably would be cheaper to produce the cable modem as an internal card for the computer, this would require different printed-circuit cards for different kinds of computers, and additionally would make the demarcation between cable network and the subscriber's computer too fuzzy. The most popular service will undoubtedly be high speed Internet access. This will enable the typical array of Internet services at speeds of 100 to 1000 times as fast as a telephone modem. Other services may include access to streaming audio and video servers, local content (community information and services), access to CD-ROM servers, and a wide variety of other service offerings. New service ideas are being born daily.The basic structure of a cable system is a simple one.
1. headend; 2. trunk cable; 3. distribution(feeder cable); 4. home cable & inhouse wiring 5. terminal electronics

As we move from the Industrial Age to the Information Age, we are moving from an assembly-line form of work to work that goes with the individual. The enormous changes in lifestyle that this entails are driven, to a tremendous extent, by technology, because technology is offering people choices they never had before. Smaller, more powerful equipment has created a mobile workforce. Today you can put your office in a bag. Eventually we are going to have all our work tools hanging around our waists, as pagers and cellular phones do already," says Joanne Pratt, head of a Dallas-based consulting practice, Joanne H. Pratt & Associates. "Work doesn't care where it goes. And now, no matter where you go, you can stay in touch with co-workers via modem, voice-mail, e-mail and the Internet," adds Thomas Miller, Vice President of the Emerging Technologies Research Group of Find/SVP, a New York-based research firm. "The population of teleworkers has been growing steadily from 10-20% a year, averaging 15% growth, since 1990. It now involves approximately 9.1 million Americans," Miller says. He confidently expects the trend to continue because surveys consistently report a very high satisfaction rate, in the range of 90% and higher, among participants; "Overperformance rather than underperformance" is the norm among teleworkers; Telework programs are not expensive to set up; Telework enables corporations in growth mode to save real estate costs, and downsizing corporations to work flexibly with consultants and outsource vendors. Miller calls this whole trend "telework" but distinguishes between "pure telecommuting" and "high-performance" segments. These segments account for one-third and two-thirds, respectively, of the total 9.1-million-person dispersed labor force. Pure telecommuting--formal work-at-home arrangements established to reduce or replace commuting--was originally driven by the Clean Air Act and other environmental initiatives. Now, with the costs of adding employees around $5,000 per cubicle, corporations are also looking at pure telecommuting as a facilities-management option. On the other hand, global competition is the primary driver of high-performance telework, which Miller defines as the use of technology to extend productive time beyond "normal business hours."

A Key to Global Competitiveness Multinational companies began feeling the impact of global competition in the 1980s. "In response, highly motivated managers and salespeople began putting in long hours across time zones to get in front of customers as much as possible or to facilitate the organization of group work over larger regions. For example, IBM's original telecommuting initiative enabled employees to sign out PCs so they could work at home after dinner instead of returning to the office," Miller says. Since then, the global market and information technology have both evolved at breath-taking speed, with reciprocal influences. An estimated 80 percent of the Fortune 1000 companies will institute telecommuting or remote work programs within the next two to three years, according to Richard Alder, the architect of the former U.S. Robotics' telecommuting program. Early adopters include Aetna Life Insurance, Levi Strauss, Hewlett-Packard, Motorola, Pacific Bell, American Express, Ernst & Young, and United Airlines. Many of these early adopters are now experimenting with telecenters and "hoteling" arrangements--shared office facilities for highly mobile employees like field sales. These telework options supplement the office at home and office in a bag. Increasing globalization has brought similar pressures and opportunities to businesses, consultants and service vendors of all sizes. As a result, The Yankee Group predicts, "As many as 80 percent of all employers will have to adopt remote work in order to compete in world markets by the mid to late 90's." Interest groups have sprung up to facilitate this transition. The International Telework Association (ITA), formerly known as the Telecommuting Advisory Council (TAC), is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the economic, social and environmental benefits of telecommuting. ITA sponsors national and international conferences as well as a Web site (http://www.telecommute.org).

Social Considerations Telecommuting introduces many changes in organizational behavior. Alder says, "Do everything right the first time. You may not get a second chance. Your number one objective should be to set up policies properly first. That helps ease the adjustments, drive the technical decisions and enable you to make remote work as seamless as possible with the office setup." For example, Pacific Bell's Telecommuting Guidelines suggest relatively self-contained jobs, with few dependencies for input or immediate supervision. These include software developer, writer, technical support specialist, personnel recruiter, purchasing agent, public relations advisor, real estate agent, graphic artist or CAD/CAM engineer. No job is entirely self-contained, however. Pacific Bell recommends starting with people who have tenure on the job, with support networks and working relationships to call on if they need help. Within eligible job types, determine whether the particular employee is "telecommutable." Sometimes the workplace is the only community that young people have, for example, and their work quality falls off if they feel isolated, Alder notes. Remember that the employee is giving up living space even if the company incurs expenses to equip it. You might want to ask the employee for a commitment on continuity if there are high hook-up costs. Last but not least, it pays to be sensitive to compensation issues. Pratt says, "All pilot programs and other indicators show that productivity rises for telecommuters, often as much as 20%, because of improved concentration, fewer interruptions and other factors. Should the employee then be paid more for the increased output, as employees and unions tend to want? Paid less because they don't have to spend time commuting, as companies tend to want? Or does it raise the threshold for productivity, so that people have to start there? These are serious issues. The employer/employee relation is like a chemical balance. You have to keep it in balance. It has to remain a win/win solution."

Communications Issues The equipment required for telework is minimal: a terminal or PC with modem; a printer or printer access; a phone, voicemail or other communications services like e-mail or paging. Sometimes the company provides everything, sometimes it fills in the gaps in home office equipment. The company customarily both decides on and pays for the communications link. Pacific Bell advises telecommuters (or the IT manager supporting these users), "Your choice of communications link depends on what kind of information you access and how frequently you access it. Technology has evolved to the point where there is a tremendous variety of link speed and cost. Start by thinking about the type of access (file transfer, terminal emulation, etc.), the volume of data transferred, how far you are from the office and how long you will need the link established each day. The access and the volume of data you need to transfer will determine how fast a link you need, while your distance from the office and hours you will be using the link will determine the most cost-effective technology." The criteria for choosing between switched vs. leased lines, or ISDN vs. analog lines are fairly clear-cut. No matter which line is installed, or whether the telecommuter uses a PC or terminal, a modem is required in both the remote and company location to connect the two computing devices. If the modem is not working, the connection can not be made, so reliability is of paramount importance. The next consideration is operating costs; the speed of the line and modem together determine how long a transmission takes. When you have different categories of users dialing up in different ways to different computers, it is a challenge to find a remote access solution that is both flexible and cost-effective. The least flexible solution is to install separately cabled modems in the data center--one for each incoming caller and (in the absence of a router) for each computer to be accessed. Considering both purchase and support costs, this is also the least cost effective solution if there are many teleworkers. The most flexible, cost-effective solution is a remote access server with integrated modems, router and application cards. Such a server can: Negotiate different line speeds; Handle different network protocols (e.g., Telnet, X.25 and IP/IPX); Assign an incoming call to any modem available, whether analog or ISDN; look up network addresses of target computers and route calls appropriately; be remotely monitored and managed, thereby reducing support costs; contain an integrated Windows NT server; Integrate with security servers.