GBC Tech Video News

The exponential explosion of data, facts, and infromation is swamping our ability to keep pace. Words are being added to the dictionary faster than we can process their meaning and impact. We can’t go where we don’t have the words or language to take us. And then do we want to go to where some of the words and phrases may be taking us? How about the photonics belt as an example?

The word Photonics appeared in the late 1960’s to describe a research field whose goal was to use light to perform functions that traditionally used to fall within the typical domain of electronics, such as telecommunications, information processing etc. Photonics really began with the invention of the laser, and the laser diode followed in the 1970s by the development of optical fibers as a medium for transmitting information using light beams, and the Erbium-doped fiber amplifier.

These inventions formed the basis for the telecommunications revolution of the late 20th century, and provided the infrastructure for the internet. Now you know the importance!

So, how does this tie in with 2012? Or does it? 

Based on some satellite instrumentation, astronomers in 1961 discovered what appeared to be an unusual nebula. We normally understand the nebula phenomenon as a vast cloud-like mass of gas or dust. This one, however, appeared to have anomalous properties and was named the Golden Nebula. What is this electromagnetic cloud, this golden nebula? Its more universal designation or label is known as the photon belt consisting of many bands of light. Does this have anything to do with the interstellar plasma field that Alexey Dmitriev refers to?

All sorts of theories are being developed and will be expanded over the next few years. Add this one to your list.

Don’t underestimate the talent that you get when you select a professional answering service. Many of the leading answering service companies in the industry are very particular about the employees they hire. They obviously make it a point to hire only articulate individuals who can think on their feet and can handle multiple calls while staying poised. They also clearly realize the importance of answering calls promptly and in a professional manner at all times. Answering Service owners and managers know about the importance of the voice and its tone, and how an operator’s voice can truly make a welcoming and helpful difference when answering calls. Of course, being able and determined to help a caller is equally as important.

Industry leading answering service companies like 1-800 We Answer ( http://www.efls.com ) are very selective about who they hire. Before any hiring takes place, operators are thoroughly screened and their communication and listening skills are put to the test. After skilled operators are hired, they receive training in the company’s policies and answering service procedures. They’re closely supervised so that their performance is consistent. Training doesn’t stop once an operator’s evaluation period is over. Answering service operators receive continual training on new accounts, and learn customer service skills throughout their careers.

Answering service companies attract a steady stream of excellent employees. Many companies are realizing the advantages of outsourcing inbound telephone call answering to an answering service. The growth of outsourced business support areas and the virtual service industries has spurred a growing need for skilled customer service representatives across all fields. Answering service businesses constantly need fresh talent. While many customer service experts work in the answering service industry full-time, some of these employees are part-time workers, including people working second jobs. These employees, who work full-time in other areas, often have useful professional experience to offer an answering service company. That broad experience is evident when they answer calls and provide exceptional customer service.

An answering service can be an appealing place to work. For those individuals who love to talk, be helpful and who know they have strong communications skills, are well suited to work for an answering service. A clear speaking voice, known as a “great phone voice” is a plus for answering service employees. Answering service companies provide fair pay, and the hours are often very flexible since an answering service can provide call coverage at all hours, 24/7, 365 days a year. Employees can usually choose to work a specific shift that accommodates their lifestyle and schedule: early morning, afternoon, late night, and overnight.

Working for an answering service can be a path to higher levels of customer service experience. Answering service companies attract quality employees who are drawn to the latest technology in the telecommunications industry. By working at a professional answering service, customer service employees sharpen their technical skills since messages are relayed to clients in a variety of ways via phone and also through new technology: mobile e-mail, fax or directly to a client’s PDA. Some answering service employees update databases and they get to work on a variety of telecommunications software applications, some of which were created by their own IT departments.

Answering service companies partner with their clients to provide seamless call coverage. Keeping this concept in mind, the employees of an answering service become quite important. When a company’s receptionist goes home, it’s the answering service live operator who takes the reins. The operator becomes an extension of that company whose calls they are covering. A valuable answering service worker realizes their voice and presence is just as important as the company’s daytime receptionist’s.

Employees are the key ingredient that distinguishes one company from another. Answering Service companies also realize this, and hire only the best communicators: good listeners who are ready at all times to consistently help and service callers. Answering service companies actively recruit online just like the Fortune 1000 companies, and utilize key job search sites such as Monster.com, Careerbuilders.com and Craig’s List. The job front for answering service employees looks bright, since there is a growing demand for qualified and skilled employees. Unlike many other US industries, many answering service companies are expanding and hiring rapidly.

Let’s review briefly what competition today has done for us. We have long-distance prices that are 50 percent lower than they were 10 years ago. We have fiber-optic network, four bands of it, across the country. We have tremendous capacity for transmission of digital signals over this fiber-optic network. We have an explosion of products in computers, in telephone equipment, in faxes, in voice mail, in all of the products that just 10 years ago we as consumers couldn’t even imagine.

It is competition in breaking apart the local network from the long-distance network and allowing competition in the equipment side of the business which has caused this tremendous forward movement for consumers, lower prices, and bringing the United States to the forefront of the telecommunications revolution.

It is a fact that competition has made this country the preeminent leader in the world in telecommunications. Japan is behind us, Europe is behind us. We are exporting products, we are creating jobs, but more than that we have tremendous productivity and we have products and lower prices better than anywhere in the world. It is competition that has gotten us to this stage, and it is the antitrust decree and the modified final judgment which is responsible for that.

The time has come to move this important industry from the courts to legislation. The time is here, the time is now, and by taking the next step and opening the local loop, still monopolized by the Regional Bell Operating Companies, to competition, which only this bill can do fully and effectively and immediately, we can move into the next phase of the telecommunications revolution in this country. If we do that, if we do it wisely, if it we do it promptly, if we do it smart and with courage, we can continue to lead the world in this basic and vital industry which is now 10 percent of our gross domestic product.

The job of building the Nil the infrastructure that will permit broadband, interactive communication between all members of our society has been aptly compared to the building of the nation’s interstate highway system. Like the construction of the highway system, the construction of the Nil will create hundreds of thousands of jobs. And just as roads have enhanced this nation’s productivity and living standards, the completion of the Nil will make firms and individuals more productive. The Nil will also enliance the quality of our lives by creating new ways to educate adults and their children, improve our health care, give us better and cheaper ways of buying products and services, and entertain us at home.

There is no question that it affects the life of every American. It affects the economy of this country and it affects our competitiveness and productivity.