TalkTalk targets teleworkers with business-grade broadband

With all indications that the new normal of masses of home workers will persist for the next year to 18 months at least, and could just be a permanent fixture, UK business-to-business (B2B) telecoms provider TalkTalk Business has introduced a B2B Homeworker Package, providing business-grade connectivity for employees working from home.

The UK telco said it introduced the offering due to a perceptible increase in customer interest and to support businesses looking to make a permanent switch to employee home working in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. It quoted a forecast by Global Workplace Analytics predicting that 25-30% of the UK workforce is projected to be working from home multiple days a week by the end of 2021. Data-driven sectors such as finance, technology and IT are seen to have exhibited the greatest shift to remote working.

Other research has come to similar conclusions. A study by Xerox Holdings Corporation showed an estimated 82% of the workforce in respondents’ organisations was likely to have returned to the workplace in 12-18 months’ time, necessitating investment in new resources to support a hybrid remote and in-office workforce.

But while most businesses plan to return most of their employees to the office, the research found that expanded remote working policies are here to stay. The research also highlighted that the rapid transition to remote working had been difficult for most businesses, with only 28% saying they were fully prepared and 29% citing technology as their biggest pain point.

TalkTalk Business believes that around 17 million people will be expected to work from home multiple days a week, so its Homeworker Package will provide speeds from 76Mbps to 1Gbps to offer the reliability, flexibility and security that businesses and their workforces need following the Covid-19 crisis, and to support the increase in home working.

The Homeworker Package is claimed to offer business-specific benefits that aren’t typically available through regular residential connections. These are said to include business-grade connectivity, scalable to the point of supporting enterprises needing 100 or more connections, varied management levels, connectivity options up to 1Gbps, “worksafe” security and 365-day UK support.

With such a rapid rise in home working in recent months, the need for reliable connectivity in Britain has never been greater, commented Jonathan Kini, managing director at TalkTalk Business.

“The launch of TalkTalk Business Homeworker offers medium and enterprise-sized businesses and their employees the opportunity to benefit from business-grade connectivity in their homes, with the necessary security, reliability and speed needed to meet business demands,” he noted.

“For employees, the package will allow them to carry out their day-to-day jobs as effectively at home as they do in the office, and without the many technical and connectivity issues that cause frustration for many remote workers today.”