broadband have suffered disproportionately throughout the pandemic .”
A future in which working from home makes the leap from exception to the norm has the worrying potential to exacerbate this state of affairs .
The “ Right ” Thing to do Solving these issues of digital inequality is a foundational step that needs to be taken if a dematerialised workplace – with all the sustainability and cost-saving benefits to companies that it entails – is to be made a reality .
The solution , Erlandsson speculates , “ doesn ' t lie exclusively with the service providers , or exclusively with the enterprises themselves , but rather with both .”
On the service provider side , MNOs need to work harder to deliver connectivity that is not only fast and affordable , but ubiquitously available from anywhere someone might need to work remotely . In the UK , MNOs have been making concerted efforts to broaden their network coverage and reduce “ not-spots ”. In February , EE announced plans to increase its 4G coverage across more than 500 areas throughout the country by the end of 2021 , and 5G programs like the government ’ s
SONIC initiative ( who we ’ re speaking to later in this issue ) are doing a lot to drive the kind of coverage that a dematerialised economy requires . This is only half the battle , however , as Erlandsson notes that , in order to draw in enterprises to help solve this problem , service providers need to start offering the right kind of product . “ Service providers and MNOs could develop offerings to solve connectivity problems with products like in-home base stations , 5G fixed access wireless , and so on , but this is where the enterprises need to come in , because it ' s not the sort of service that the employee would ever buy ,” he explains . “ So , this is something that the enterprises should make sure their employees get access to .”
He likens it to the fact that many companies make it a priority to make sure they secure parking spaces for their employees , even going so far as to build their own car parks to meet demand . “ If people
61 % of employees prefer working fully remote
97 % of employees don ’ t want to return to the office full time
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