Comcast is not winning any popularity contests this week as it announces internet and TV price hikes on the heels of expanding data caps.
Comcast sent out notice to customers that, effective January 2021, the price of “Broadcast TV” will go up by as much as $4.50 per month. Similarly, the Regional Sports Network (RSN) will go up by as much as $2 per month.
Unfortunately, the pain doesn’t stop there. Comcast told Ars Technica that “six Internet-only packages that cost $53 to $113 a month will all rise $3 a month, and the price for professional installations or in-home service visits is rising from $70 to $100.”
A copy of the notice was shared on Reddit, with a breakdown of the various packages.
The news comes at the same time that Comcast is extending its data cap policy to the rest of its region. Customers will be capped at 1.2 TB per month, with fees of $10 per 50GB after that. Although the overage fees will be capped at $100 per month, many critics are calling the company out for making it harder on individuals and families at a time when internet access is more important than ever.
Salesforce may be looking to make its largest acquisition to date, possibly snapping up Slack, the popular corporate message platform.
Slack helped define the corporate messaging market and is used by organizations of all sizes. Recently, the company has faced increasing competition from Microsoft Teams, which has eclipsed Slack’s user base.
Nonetheless, Slack is still wildly popular and continues to strike deals with major companies. In February, IBM announced it was deploying Slack to all 350,000 of its employees. Similarly, in June AWS announced it was deploying Slack to all of its employees. In return, Slack migrated its voice and video calling services to Amazon’s Chime platform.
The AWS deal also spurred talk that Amazon might be interested in acquiring Slack. Despite Microsoft Teams’ larger market share, Slack is seen as the safe choice for companies that compete with Microsoft and don’t want to rely on a rival for their corporate communication. Given that AWS and Microsoft are the first and second-largest cloud providers, Slack seemed like a natural choice for AWS.
It appears Salesforce may be interested in purchasing the message platform, however, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. The talks appear to be preliminary, and therefore may ultimately come to nothing. Should the a deal be struck, however, it would be the largest in Salesforce history, since Slack is currently valued at $17 billion.
Salesforce and Slack already integrate with each other. Given that both companies are locked in heated competition with Microsoft, joining forces may make sense. Salesforce, in particular, has been under increased pressure lately, with some analysts believing Microsoft’s open approach to data gives it a significant advantage over Salesforce. Microsoft has also partnered with C3.ai and Adobe to target Salesforce’s core CRM business.
It remains to be seen if the talks will bear fruit, but it is also possible Saleforce’s interest could spark renewed interest from other parties, such as AWS. Larger companies content to partner with an independent Slack may not want to see it come under the control of a possible competitor. This, in turn, may motivate them to make a move of their own.
At a time when Americans are relying on internet access more than ever, Comcast Xfinity is rolling out data caps across its market.
Comcast currently serves a 39-state region. While data caps were already in effect in much of its market, the company is now bringing them to the remaining states, primarily in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions. The specific states are Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Vermont, and West Virginia.
The company will cap users at 1.2 TB of monthly data usage beginning January 2021, although the company will offer a couple of months of grace period. Beginning in April, however, Comcast Xfinity customers will be charged $10 per 50 GB over the cap, although the company says overages will be capped at $100 per month. To make matters even worse, there is currently no provision to save up data from lighter months and roll it over to heavier months.
Needless to say, customers have been outraged at the announcement, pointing out that families and individuals are relying on their internet connection more than ever due to the pandemic. Individuals are working remotely, children are learning remotely, and families are relying on videoconferencing for socializing, worship and entertainment. As a result, Comcast’s announcement is being labeled an example of “unlimited greed.”
Rather than rethinking their strategy, Comcast is hitting back, pointing out that the data caps won’t impact 95% of users.
Hi Sean. About 95 percent of our customers use less than 1.2TB and are not impacted by this plan – even with the spike in usage as customers are educating and working from home during COVID-19. (1/2)
Some are already pointing to Comcast’s announcement as the latest example of why critics say internet providers should be regulated like utilities. While internet access may have been a luxury at one time, it has now become an important lifeline for the majority of Americans.
Microsoft is ramping up its competition with Zoom by offering 24-hour meetings with its free Teams plan.
Zoom quickly emerged at the outset of the pandemic as one of the top choices for virtual work, remote learning, worship and socializing. Although Microsoft’s Skype is one of the oldest video conferencing platforms, it has not enjoyed nearly as much popularity or use.
As a result, Microsoft has pivoted to promoting its Teams platform. Although originally more of a Slack competitor, Microsoft has increasingly been positioning Teams as an alternative to Zoom.
Zoom made headlines Tuesday when it announced it was lifting the 40-minute limit on meetings with its free account, in an effort to help families remain safe and still be able to visit during Thanksgiving.
Microsoft has followed suit, announcing it is extending the time limit on meetings made with a free Teams account to 24-hours. In addition, only the person hosting the meeting needs a Teams account, making it even easier for others to join.
Microsoft’s announcement is good news for consumers and highlights the benefits of healthy competition in the video conferencing market.
The Solomon Islands Government is preparing to ban Facebook to protect “national unity” and crack down on cyberbullying.
Facebook may be experiencing record growth, thanks to the pandemic, but the Solomon Islands government is not a fan. The government has criticized the social media platform for its role in cyberbullying and online defamation.
“Cyberbullying on Facebook is widespread, people have been defamed by users who use fake names, and people’s reputations that have been built up over the years [are destroyed] in a matter of minutes,” Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said, according to ABC News.
The proposed ban is being called a temporary one while the government drafts laws to legislate online behavior. Temporary or not, the move has drawn intense criticism from the government’s opponents, as well as from Solomon Islanders abroad.
“My mum was very sick, and she went downhill very quickly, within like 10 days, and then we lost her,” Nurse Margaret Tadokata told ABC News. “My last goodbyes with my mum were on a video call on Facebook, on Messenger … Without it, I wouldn’t have seen her or heard her for the last time.”
“Even though I’ve been in Australia for more than 20 years, my connection and my culture and family are very important to me, and Facebook has made that easy for me,” continued Ms Tadokata.
The backlash the Solomon Islands Government is experiencing illustrates the challenges governments around the world face in their efforts to regulate Facebook. On the one hand, there is no denying the damage the social media platform has done to the fabric of human society and societal norms. On the other hand, the platform has become a nearly irreplaceable method of communication for many across the globe.
Dropbox has unveiled an update to Spaces, one aimed at helping remote workers collaborate and remain productive.
Dropbox Spaces is a service currently in beta that helps small teams work together and stay productive. Dropbox describes the service as “the virtual workspace that brings together teams and projects. Spaces is a new experience from Dropbox, and is designed so small teams can streamline their work, prioritize their day, and stay connected from anywhere.”
As the pandemic has transformed the workplace, Dropbox has gone all-in on remote work. The company announced it was transitioning to a “virtual first” company, even releasing the Virtual First Toolkit to help other companies do the same.
Dropbox has introduced Spaces 2, making it even easier for remote teams to work together.
The new Dropbox Spaces is a virtual workspace that brings teams and projects together. With Spaces, teams have one easy-to-use place where they can collaborate on content, communicate with their team, and coordinate projects from start to finish.
Streamline your work. When information is spread across tools and channels, projects are harder to kick off and manage. Spaces makes it easier by bringing together files, cloud content, tasks, comments, and timelines into a single Space for teams.
Prioritize your day. Competing priorities make it difficult to work efficiently and finish what needs to get done. With Spaces, you can create tasks for yourself and the team, add project milestones, and manage your schedule so you never miss a deadline.
Stay connected to move projects forward. Connecting with people and keeping tabs on work-in-progress is more challenging than ever. With Spaces, you can share project updates, reply to feedback, and feel the human connection of working together from anywhere.
It’s a safe bet Dropbox will have a big hit on their hands with Spaces, as the company leverages their own “virtual first” experience to help other companies maximize remote productivity.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates says that over 50% of business travel and 30% of time in the office will never come back even after pandemic restrictions are lifted:
My prediction would be that over 50% of business travel and over 30% of days in the office will go away. Now it’s not the gold standard that to fly all the way here to sit in front of me that. You can do the virtual connection. It will be a very high threshold to actually doing that business trip. There will be ways that you can work from home a lot of the time. Some companies will be extreme on one end or the other.
I just don’t like talking to African leaders and I always feel bad for African leaders. There are so many conferences in Europe and the US that they are expected to come to. Yet, their job in their countries is so important like their education or health system or collecting taxes or disability. Yet, they spend half their time on all these trips. The fact is now we can do a 20-minute call as needed and touch with base them. It’s been pretty impressive how a lot has gotten done. We will go to the office somewhat. We will do some business travel but dramatically less.
The fact that the (video communication) software doesn’t have any sort of serendipitous thing of people you run into after the meeting or gathering thing, there is some work to be done there. So no I haven’t run into somebody and made a new friendship. There is something missing there.
Bill Gates: Over 50% Of Business Travel To Go Away Permanently
Marissa Mayer’s new company, Sunshine, has launched Sunshine Contacts, an app that organizes iOS contacts.
Marissa Mayer previously served as CEO of Yahoo from 2012 to 2017, when Verizon acquired the company. Prior to her time at Yahoo, Mayer was a long-time Google employee and executive.
Since leaving Yahoo, Mayer cofounded Sunshine with the goal of creating “advanced technology to make mundane tasks effortless, free up your time, and make it easier to be thoughtful.”
The company’s Sunshine Contacts is a perfect example, using artificial intelligence (AI) to understand the relationships between people. This helps the app organize communication, events and more. The app also uses AI to pull together the various bits of a contact’s information into one location, making it easier to keep the information organized and up-to-date.
“We’re incredibly proud to introduce Sunshine to the world today,” said Marissa Mayer, Sunshine co-founder and CEO. “The essential technologies that help us stay connected to those who matter most are antiquated. They’ve been around forever and we all see them as ‘good enough,’ despite their outsized impact on our interactions and relationships. At Sunshine, we believe there’s an immense opportunity to make the mundane magical. It’s been an extremely challenging and rewarding problem to tackle and we’re just getting started.”
“The idea of ‘sunshine’ elicits happiness – just as our company and the products we’ll build intend to do,” said Enrique Muñoz Torres, Sunshine co-founder and President. “Our goal is to give people intuitive insights to help them strengthen their relationships, improve how they spend their time, and make it easier to stay in touch. As first-time founders, we’re excited about the team we’ve built to help accomplish this and we look forward to addressing more everyday problems.”
The app is available via invitation for the time being. As of yet, there has been no announcement regarding general availability.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has voted to free up spectrum currently reserved for automotive safety to improve WiFi.
The spectrum in question is the 5.9 GHz band. The spectrum was originally intended for vehicles to be able to communicate with each other, as well as to allow emergency vehicles to change traffic lights as needed. Despite the spectrum being reserved for that purpose since 1999, the automotive industry has yet to utilize the spectrum to its full potential.
As a result, the FCC has voted to use a portion of the spectrum to improve WiFi connectivity.
Specifically, the new band plan designates the lower 45 megahertz (5.850-5.895 GHz) for unlicensed uses and the upper 30 megahertz (5.895-5.925 GHz) for enhanced automobile safety using Cellular Vehicle-to- Everything (C-V2X) technology.
In announcing the decision, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai discussed how the coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the need for reliable broadband internet.
First, there is a pressing need for us to allocate additional spectrum for unlicensed operations.2 The pandemic has underscored that consumers need access and more bandwidth to be able to engage in telework, remote learning, telehealth, and other broadband-related services. And we have proof—not a concept, but actual evidence—that 5.9 GHz spectrum can help quickly address this need.
Pai also emphasized how the automotive industry has shifted its focus. While the 5.9 GHz spectrum was originally reserved for Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) services and designated Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC), the industry has recently moved toward C-V2X technology.
Second, the automotive industry has pivoted from DSRC to Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) technology. C-V2X is more reliable and resilient than DSRC and can take advantage of cellular- based connectivity to offload non-safety-of-life communications. C-V2X has momentum both domestically and internationally, with automakers such as Ford, Audi, Daimler, BMW, and Jaguar Land Rover pursuing deployment of C-V2X equipment.
The decision has already been met with criticism, although it remains to be seen if there will be any serious challenges to it.
ActivTrak has raised $50 million to help companies “understand and optimize how digital work gets done.”
ActivTrak is a company that specializes in helping customers understand how their employees work. The company’s cloud-based platform analyzes data to help companies discover ways to improve productivity and compliance.
The company has secured $50 million from Sapphire Ventures “to scale go-to-market activities in sales, marketing, and channels, and expand platform capabilities using AI-driven analytics to help companies better understand and optimize how digital work gets done.”
As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, more companies are working remotely than ever before. Many companies have had enough success with remote work that they have made it a permanent part of corporate policies. Even so, some companies are still struggling to improve remote work productivity.
“Our goal is to bring context to digital work data, providing productivity insights that help companies identify work patterns, set benchmarks, and optimize and sustain outcomes for ongoing success,” said Rita Selvaggi, CEO of ActivTrak. “Sapphire Ventures has a deep track record of investing in next-generation technology companies that leverage the power of analytics to change how people live and work. I’m thrilled to join their portfolio of companies as we continue to grow and capitalize on opportunities in this space.”
Zoom has announced it is lifting its normal 40-minute time limit on meetings with free accounts to help folks with Thanksgiving plans.
As COVID-19 surges to record levels, experts have been warning about the danger of Thanksgiving celebrations and the possibility of new super-spreader events. Many families have been relying on Zoom to stay in touch, and plan to do so even more during the holiday season.
Zoom’s free tier comes with a 40-minute limit on meetings, requiring individuals to keep restarting the meeting for a longer family get-together. Zoom plans on lifting that in time for Thanksgiving, making it a bit easier for families to visit virtually.
As a thank you to our customers, we will be lifting the 40-minute limit for all meetings globally from midnight ET on Nov. 26 through 6 a.m. ET on Nov. 27 so your family gatherings don't get cut short. ❤️🏡 #ZoomTogetherpic.twitter.com/aubsH0tfxG
As expected, Apple unveiled its first Macs to take advantage of its custom silicon: the MacBook Air, the Mac mini and the 13-inch MacBook Pro.
Apple had promised it would deliver the first of its new machines before the end of the year, with many experts expecting one of the MacBook lines to be the first. Sure enough, the MacBook Air was the first new Mac announced, with the Mac mini and MacBook Pro following.
Many have wondered how fast the new Macs would be, especially in comparison to Intel-based Macs. Apple didn’t disappoint. The company unveiled its M1 chip, the first in a family of chips that will power Apple’s products.
The M1 Chip
Apple M1 – Credit Apple
The M1 is the first SoC for the Mac, giving it much faster efficiency and performance than previous generations of Macs, all of which had to use different chips for different tasks. The M1 features an eight-core CPU, four for high-performance and four for high-efficiency. Even the high-efficiency cores are workhorses, however. According to Apple, the four high-efficiency cores deliver roughly the same performance as the last generation dual-core, Intel-based MacBook Air…but at 1/10 the power.
The GPU also includes eight cores. Apple claims it can deliver up to two times better performance than the graphics on Intel machines using only 1/4 the power. The M1 also includes a 16-core Neural Engine, delivering up to 15x faster ML performance.
The M1 chips improves the overall security of the Mac, bringing the same security architecture that the iPhone and iPad have enjoyed. This includes automatic, high-performance encryption.
MacBook Air
MacBook Air – Credit Apple
With the M1, the new MacBook Air is up to 3.5x faster than the previous model, with up to 5x faster graphics. This makes it faster than 98% of PC laptops sold in the last year.
Like the iPad and iPhone, the new MacBook Air has no fan, is completely silent and wakes instantly. Its improved efficiency gives the MacBook Air 15 hours of web browsing, 18 hours of video playback and 6 hours of videoconferencing.
The MacBook Air starts at $999, or $899 with the education discount.
Mac mini
Mac mini – Credit Apple
The new Mini offers 3x faster CPU performance, along with 6x faster GPU performance. In fact, the Mini is up to 5x faster than desktop PCs at 1/10 the size.
The Mini starts at $699, $100 less than before.
MacBook Pro
MacBook Pro – Credit Apple
The new 13-inch MacBook Pro features 2.8x faster CPU performance and 5x GPU performance. Together, this makes the MacBook Pro up to 3x faster than comparable Windows laptops. The MacBook Pro has the best battery life of any Mac ever made, with 17 hours of web browsing or 20 hours of video playback.
The new MacBook Pro starts at $1299, or $1199 for education.
All of the new machines can be ordered today and are available next week.
At the outset, Tim Cook said: “We love the Mac. It’s in our DNA.” Based on today’s event, that is more evident than ever. It’s also a safe bet far more people will love the Mac too, if today’s announcement is any indication.
General Motors is planning to add 3,000 tech jobs in the near future to support its software and vehicle initiatives.
Like many automakers, GM has been working to transform its business, adopting new technologies and keeping up with the digital transformation. Complex entertainment systems, autonomous cars and electric vehicles are just some of the biggest trends automakers are dealing with.
GM recently announced it was investing $2 billion in its electric vehicle manufacturing. The company isn’t stopping there, however, as it is also planning on 3,000 new hires in an effort to shore up its electric vehicle efforts. The jobs will also include more remote work opportunities.
“GM wants to hire electrical system and infotainment software engineers as well as developers for Java, Android, iOS and other platforms,” according to the Houston Chronicle. “The company says it wants to increase diversity with the new hires to build on its existing software expertise.”
This is just the latest development illustrating how important software programmers have become to the automotive industry, and will continue to be in the years ahead.
Zoom has agreed to a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over misleading security claims.
Zoom quickly established itself at the outset of the pandemic as one of the main methods of communication and remote work. Unfortunately for the company, it also faced a number of missteps in regard to security.
In particular, the FTC took Zoom to task for claiming it offered end-to-end encryption from at least 2016, when it offered a much weaker type of security. End-to-end encryption ensures that only the sender and recipient can access the encrypted content. While Zoom claimed to offer this level of encryption, in reality, it held the keys that could allow it to decrypt meetings at will.
In addition, customers who opted to save recordings of their meetings using Zoom’s cloud storage were misled about the level of encryption Zoom provided. The company claimed the recordings were encrypted immediately. Instead, the FTC found that some recordings were left as long as 60 days without being encrypted.
“During the pandemic, practically everyone—families, schools, social groups, businesses—is using videoconferencing to communicate, making the security of these platforms more critical than ever,” said Andrew Smith, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Zoom’s security practices didn’t line up with its promises, and this action will help to make sure that Zoom meetings and data about Zoom users are protected.”
As part of the settlement, Zoom is prohibited from making false and misleading statements, must submit to third-party assessments, make sure updates do not interfere with third-party security security features and implement additional safeguards.
Yahoo unveiled its first-ever smartphone, as it tries to establish itself as a budget phone service.
Once the darling of the internet companies, Yahoo fell on hard times before eventually being acquired by Verizon. Back in March, Verizon launched Yahoo Mobile, a low-budget cell phone service. Its claim to fame is combining Verizon’s network with the ad-free Yahoo Mail Pro, all for $39.99 a month.
Now the company is releasing its first-ever smartphone, the Yahoo Mobile ZTE Blade A3Y. The phone is $49.99 and comes in Yahoo’s trademark purple.
“As the world continues to adapt to a new socially-distant normal, content and connectivity have become key for consumers who are craving new experiences and connections to the ones they love,” said Guru Gowrappan, CEO of Verizon Media. “With the launch of the Yahoo Mobile phone, we are bringing a unique and valuable offering to users with Yahoo’s unified suite of products, trusted content, commerce and the reliability of Verizon’s unparalleled network.”
In many ways, Yahoo Mobile and its new phone seem like a solution in search of a problem. With the myriad of budget services that piggyback on one of the big three carriers, the new phone and service may live or die based on how much customers like Yahoo’s services.
“Digital transformation was the opportunity for our generation before COVID,” says ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott. “Now with COVID, it has accelerated and exacerbated all the issues of broken systems and siloed operations. Before COVID they didn’t want to be told to go into a cubicle. Do you think after COVID once this thing clears up at some point in the future they are going to be told to go into a cubicle? No, they’re going to be digital.”
Digital transformation was the opportunity for our generation before COVID. Now with COVID, it has accelerated and exacerbated all the issues of broken systems and siloed operations. People are not realizing that 75% of the workforce by 2025 will be millennial generation people. Before COVID they didn’t want to be told to go into a cubicle. Do you think after COVID once this thing clears up at some point in the future they are going to be told to go into a cubicle? No, they’re going to be digital.
They’re also going to absolutely expect their employer to give them the best tools. The big idea if you want to give the customer a Michelin 3 experience is you have to fuse the employee experience and the customer experience on a common platform. This way most things can be automated for the customer on a self-service basis. The things that can’t be automated can immediately be workflow ordered to get the right person in the right place with the right skill set at the right time. That’s what we do and that’s why this is a thrilling moment.
Now Platform Is the Standard For Digital Transformation
The Now platform has become the standard for digital transformation in business today. If you think about most of these companies they’re grappling with the future of work. They have to accommodate their employees. They have very distributed workforces. How are they going to get them the tools that they need and onboard them properly? In some cases, they never even meet the people they hire. Then obviously, how are they going to manage the experience they have digitally?
This also goes direct to the customer. How do you go direct to the consumer? How do you make sure you give them a great service so they stay loyal to you? The ServiceNow Platform is at the epicenter of all of that. More and more, developers are building new innovation on the fly on the Now Platform. The Now platform has become a standard for large enterprises around the world. The ecosystem and the network effect building on that are truly sensational. We’re extremely fired up because we want to make work… work better for people all over the world. What we’re trying to do is get to the essence of everything.
ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott: COVID Has Accelerated Digital Transformation
WhatsApp is now delivering over 100 billion messages a day, solidifying its position as one of the most popular communication methods.
In February WhatsApp made headlines when it announced it had crossed the two billion users mark. The platform shows no sign of slowing down, with Will Cathcart, Head of WhatsApp at Facebook, announcing the latest milestone.
This year we've all relied on messaging more than ever to keep up with our loved ones and get business done. We are proud that @WhatsApp is able to deliver roughly 100B messages every day and we're excited about the road ahead.
Facebook has been looking for ways to monetize WhatsApp to help recoup the $19 billion the company paid to acquire it. After flirting with the idea of ads within the app, the Facebook pivoted to business and finance options instead. In July the company announced its WhatsApp Business app had cross the 50 million users mark.
Given the platform’s popularity, there is still plenty of room for Facebook to grow WhatsApp’s business and finance services.
Upwork has released its “Remote Workers on the Move” report, highlighting the impact the pandemic is having on the American workforce.
As the pandemic swept the globe, companies the world over sent their employees home to work remotely. Just as the initial restrictions started to ease, the pandemic picked up its pace, forcing companies to extend their work-from-home policies. In some cases, companies such as Dropbox, Reddit, Twitter and Microsoft have made remote work a permanent part of their culture.
The shift to remote work is having a profound impact on the American workforce, according to Upwork. In particular, remote work could be leading to a sizable migration.
Anywhere from 14 to 23 million Americans are planning to move as a result of remote work. Combined with those who are moving regardless of remote work, near-term migration rates may be three to four times what they normally are.
Large cities are the biggest losers in this scenario, with 20.6% of those planning to move leaving a big city. Those planning to move are not just moving further into the suburbs. Some 54.7% of those migrating are planning on moving at least two hours away, farther than typical commuting distance.
Upwork calls the transition to remote work “the biggest, fastest transformation of the labor market since the World World II mobilization.” The report makes it clear that companies must adapt to what has become a new normal, providing employees with remote work options. In particular, Upwork makes the case that companies are better off allowing full remote work rather than partial options.
In addition to the impacts to cities, the results of the survey also present an important lesson for businesses on the future of remote work. In order to capture and provide professionals with the full benefits of remote work, businesses must allow full-time remote work. While a partial-remote model, a policy that requires a blend of both remote work and in office work, may have some appeal as a “best of both” choice, it also means forgoing many benefits. A professional cannot move hours and even states away if they still have to go into the office two days a week. Our survey shows that for 41% of people moving out of the area because of remote work, they are going 4 or hours farther away. This is not a weekly commute distance, and is not something workers can do easily with a partial-remote model.
Likewise, with a partial-remote model businesses forgo one of the biggest benefits of a remote workforce; the ability to hire from a larger talent pool. Businesses cannot hire workers wherever they are if weekly office visits are still required.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has established the 5G Fund for Rural America in a bid to close the digital divide.
Because of the sprawling nature of the US and its large geographic footprint, there is a long-recognized digital divide between urban areas and rural communities. While urban areas and cities often have access to multiple types of high-speed broadband, rural communities have few—or in some cases no—choices available.
The FCC is working to close that divide with a $9 billion fund aimed at improving 5G access.
The Federal Communications Commission today adopted rules creating the 5G Fund for Rural America, which will distribute up to $9 billion over the next decade to bring 5G wireless broadband connectivity to rural America. 5G represents the latest advance in mobile wireless technology, promising increased speeds, reduced latency, and better security than 4G LTE networks.
Carriers, especially T-Mobile and Verizon, have been deploying 5G home broadband in an effort to help cover these areas. T-Mobile, in particular, rapidly expanded its home 5G internet in the wake of AT&T’s announcement it was phasing out its DSL service, a move likely to widen the digital divide even more.
Microsoft Teams has continued to gain users, passing 115 million daily active users, according to the company’s latest earnings report.
Microsoft Teams has been locked in a battle with Slack over the corporate messaging space. While Slack predates Teams by roughly four years, Teams has quickly risen in popularity, becoming one of Microsoft’s fastest-growing services.
In March, at the start of the pandemic, Microsoft made news when it passed 44 million users. Now its user base has more than doubled, coming in at more than 115 million daily active users.
What’s more, Teams is serving as a way of helping individuals use Microsoft 365 even more.
“As much as Teams has transformed work for our customers, it’s really the tip of the iceberg,” writes Jared Spataro, Corporate Vice President for Microsoft 365. “Because as people work all day in Teams, they also get the full breadth and depth of Microsoft 365, the integrated suite of graph-connected productivity apps and experiences behind the familiar tools we all rely on every day to connect, collaborate, and get work done.
“For that reason, daily active usage only tells a portion of the collaboration story; a broader collaboration metric is needed to understand the changing ways in which we work and collaborate. What’s needed now is a metric that demonstrates the breadth of services people use and the new rich and varied ways in which collaboration happens across hybrid work environments. The true measure of collaboration transcends simple videoconferencing or chat-based communications. Our more holistic view takes into account the many ways people and teams engage in the flow of work. In Teams we see meetings, but also small group huddles, chats, calls, document collab, and individual work. And enabling all of it digitally is our vision for collaboration in the new digital age.”
Teams’ meteoric rise is further evidence of the ongoing and permanent digital transformation currently underway.
Reddit has become the latest company to make remote work a permanent option, even going so far as to unify employee pay as an added incentive.
As COVID-19 cases soar and push back many companies’ plans to return to the office, one after another has begun to permanently adopt remote work options. As early as May, Twitter announced it would allow employees to work from home permanently. Earlier this month, Microsoft announced that employees will be able to work remotely for less than 50% of their schedule, with permanent remote work available with manager approval.
Dropbox announced one the most sweeping adoptions of remote work, transitioning to what it termed a “virtual first” company. It even went so far as to open source its Virtual First Toolkit in an effort to help other companies make the transition.
Now Reddit has announced it is embracing remote work permanently, giving employees the right to choose how they want to work.
“Moving forward, teams and team members will have flexibility to explore where they work: in the office, remotely, or a combination of the two,” reads the company’s blog. “There are some exceptions; we have some roles at Reddit that need to be performed from our offices or specific geographic locations, such as Facilities or IT Support. Ultimately, we empower our leaders and their teams to make those decisions, balancing the needs of the business and employees.”
In addition, the company is also doing away with its geographic compensation program. In the past, employees who choose to work remotely were paid less than employees working in the company’s offices. Moving forward, all employees’ pay will be based on the same scale.
“To help drive the idea home (pun intended), we’ve reimagined our approach to compensation in the US,” the blog continues. “To support employees to live where they want to and do their best work, we are eliminating geographic compensation zones in the US. It means that our US compensation will be tied to pay ranges of high-cost areas such as SF and NY, regardless of where employees live. We believe this is the right balance of flexibility and support for employees, recognizing the varied tradeoffs people consider when deciding where to live. Internationally, we have had one pay range per country, and now the US will be consistent with this approach.”
For those times when employees want or need to be in the office, the company is reimagining the office workspace, with private focus areas, community collaboration and relaxed, coffee shop-style seating. The company hopes this will help employees stay connected with corporate culture and their fellow workmates.
It’s safe to say Reddit is taking remote work farther than most, and just catapulted itself to the top of the ‘best place to work’ list.
