Telework - Telenor

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• Place of purchase of commodities
which are not supplied locally;
• Certain health care services;
• Certain social welfare services;
• Bank services;
• Information spot for local government.
Visitors services:
• Tourist information;
• Accommodation booking;
• Bus station and transportation co-ordination
services.
Training and culture:
• Library services and mediation of literature,
videos, music;
• Co-ordination spot for cultural events;
• Premises for distance education and
training;
• Social meeting-place.
Very soon after the launch of the ‘G-central’
idea, three centres were established
in the Province of Jämtland – in Vemdalen,
Strömsund and Stugun. In the very
beginning they were called ‘Datastuga’
(Data cottage), later on ‘Telestuga’
(Telecottage), and were adjusted to local
preconditions and needs. The telecottage
in Vemdalen very soon took a lead in the
development process. The activities were
focused on training and dissemination of
the telecottage idea to other regions –
even to other countries.
At the telecottage in Stugun – another
small village – the activities also included
some training, but were in the first place
focused on providing services to local
enterprises and the local administration.
The telecottages in Vemdalen and Stugun
both had some elements of teleworking,
but the main activities were however
directed towards local markets.
The approach in Stömsund, a town in
the northern part of the region, was more
distance bridging. A local entrepreneur
started up a business on telemarketing.
The only training activities in this telecottage
was aimed at preparing own staff
for the telemarketing job [9].
The telecottage idea became part of a
national campaign for revitalization of
rural regions and was supported by
regional as well as national agencies and
funds like Televerket, the Swedish
national telecom operator.
The number of telecottages increased in
Sweden and the concept was also disseminated
to other countries. In 1989 the
number of telecottages in Sweden was
around 40, and the year after the telecottages
had the opportunity to collaborate
in converting the parish registration into
a modern national register administrated
by the tax authorities.
Since 1990 the number of telecottages
has declined. Financial difficulties and
problems related to marketing of the
services provided by the telecottages
reduced the number to 25 in 1993, and in
1997 the members of the Swedish Telecottage
Association were about 10.
In 1998 the Swedish Telecottage Association
was discontinued after some internal
conflicts. Some of the telecottages
continued the co-operation however, but
now on a more business oriented basis [12].
Whilst the number of telecottages declined
in Sweden during the 1990s, it
still seems to be increasing in other parts
of Europe. In Ireland and the UK for
example, the total number of telecottages
has increased from around 130 in 1994 to
approximately 200 in 1998.
Services and telework
applications at the telecottages
Particularly in rural areas, the dependence
on small businesses is crucial.
To the economy in these areas it is important
that enterprises are able to follow the
technological development and do not lag
behind their competitors, regardless of
whether the issue is market knowledge,
access to information or organizational
skills. The telecottages were regarded as a
means to meet these requirements and the
main focus turned out to be to provide
appropriate office space, ICT equipment,
training and advisory support, primarily
to entrepreneurs and new enterprises.
Seen over time, the provision of office
services and business support have been
important activities for the Swedish telecottages
– including services like [12, 16]:
• General computer training, Internet
training, other training;
• Access to equipment;
• Photocopying;
• Internet access, web-site development
& maintenance;
• Word processing, desktop publishing;
• Data entry and digitalisation of maps
and documents;
• Language translation;
• Bookkeeping;
• Consultancy and project management.
Competition in these areas surely is a
great challenge as the technology develops
very fast and forces even small
companies to continuously renew technology
and maintain skills.
Under these conditions, the only way to
generate revenues enough to survive was
to approach larger markets far away by
using communication technologies,
doing business with far-away partners,
building networks to be able to act as a
larger organization. The idea was that
when distances are no longer measured
in miles or kilometres, but in fractions
of a second, the rural area enterprises
had essentially reduced their competitive
disadvantage.
What was wrong with the
Swedish telecottages?
Now, almost 15 years later and having
seen the outcome of the ‘Telecottage
movement’, some retrospective questions
must be asked: Why could not the telecottages
become strong enough to survive
and develop their activities? Were
there some fundamental weaknesses in
the telecottage idea? What could have
been done better?
Probably the number of answers would
equal the number of telecottages. One
common answer, however, is that many
of the actors at the time when the first
telecottages were established, were too
optimistic and had too much confidence
in the potentials of the technology. They
were impressed by the technical facilities
and paid much too little attention to business
issues, potential difficulties and their
business concepts. At that time there was
an obvious ‘IT euforia’, not only among
entrepreneurs, but also among authorities
and other actors in society.
Probably the most important explanation
to the unsuccessful long-term result of
the telecottage movement is the failure
of the public actors to understand the
Telektronikk 4.1999