Telecommuters lack advanced videoconferencing -- for now

Network World - As videoconferencing creeps into business networks, it will pass the telecommuter by, at least for a while. The average telecommuter will at best have a low-quality image amid otherwise stunningly realistic video displays on ultra-high-definition screens.

State-of-the-art videoconferncing setups -- known as "telepresence" systems -- can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. And since the prices are so high, companies are unwilling to invest in such systems, except for exceptionally high-ranking or ultravaluable employees who have the clout to demand the technology.

There are ways to patch in users working from home who are equipped with lesser and less costly videoconferencing gear, and vendors predict that, over time, improvements in codecs and decreases in bandwidth costs will ultimately boost the quality of the average telecommuter's videoconferencing options.

For now, though, true high-definition telepresence systems don't come cheap. For instance, the Cisco Systems Inc.'s TelePresence 1000 -- a single-screen option -- has a list price of $79,000, while the Cisco TelePresence 3000 carries a price tag of $299,000.

That's a lot of money to give a single worker a crystal-clear presence in a videoconference. But even so, it's not out of range when it comes to certain employees at some businesses. For instance, Telanetix Inc., which makes Digital Presence videoconferencing gear, says one of its customers is installing a telepresence studio in the home of the CEO.

The equipment is Digital Presence Executive Edition, which has smaller displays and fewer screens than a full-blown system for group meetings but otherwise has all the capabilities of the more extensive offering, says Rick Ono, Telanetix's president and chief operating officer.

The price tag: about $40,000 for the equipment, plus the monthly cost of a T-1 line to the executive's house -- a sum that hasn't been determined yet but could be $1,500 per month.

Polycom Inc. also has a model for a single user: the HDX-4000, which costs $8,000. But it's not an option for the average telecommuter says Mario Macedo, director of product management for Polycom's telepresence business unit. "You're really talking about an executive telecommuting situation," he says.

Those units are more commonly deployed by businesses such as banks to let customers in branch offices meet with loan officers or other experts who work out of a central location.

There are much less expensive options if the goal is just to get an image of a person's face up on a screen in some form. Today, telecommuters can participate in webconferences if they use webcams running over DSL Internet connections. The images appear as a bit of an afterthought -- smaller in size and with jerkier motion -- but the users are nevertheless present.