More and more people are starting to work from home, re-assessing their "work-life balance" and capitalising on what industry calls "remote working". A recent survey of British companies showed that eight out of ten businesses have now agreed new working arrangements for their personnel. The object of the exercise was to improve the work-life Balance of employees and encourage greater levels of efficiency. During 2003/2004, some 900,000 requests to work flexibly were made under a new Government scheme and 800,000 of the applications were granted. Furthermore, seven out of ten businesses said that they also would be prepared to consider flexible working requests from other staff who did not qualify under the Government scheme. One of the new technological developments that makes remote working possible is the Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL), broadband that can carry both voice and data at high-speed. Remote workers can connect to their company’s Virtual Private Network either through Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) internet, which is permanently connected, or through a Remote Access Service (RAS), which involves having to dial in each time. "People started thinking about remote working back in the Eighties but the technology was not available to consider it a possibility," says Meyrick Vevers, Commercial Director of Telewest Broadband, one of UK’s communication and media groups. "However, now with the increased availability and use of DSL to home users, remote working is definitely on the increase." Of course, security is very important and IT directors are understandably cautious. But they are now beginning to feel more comfortable about allowing their staff a higher level of access from home. Telewest Business’s experience in putting together product solutions is based on the company’s focus on understanding their customers’ needs. Because customers’ needs are diverse and Telewest Business’s possible solutions are wide-ranging, the company invites businesses seeking further information to visit their web site or call direct. Call centre workers, mobile staff, such as sales executives and local authority social workers or parents at home, are among those for whom remote working appears to be increasingly attractive. "People in industry in the UK have some of the longest working hours in the world," says Vevers. "Doing those hours solely in the office is more disruptive to the personal life of the individual than having the flexibility to work from home." "Remote working is all about personal choice and giving people more flexibility that suits their personal lives. At Telewest Business, we aim to try and help play a part in enabling companies to give their employees that flexibility.\ IT directors feel comfortable because

A. safeguards are no longer really necessary.
B. the remote workforce is expanding rapidly.
C. they are more confident of their network’s safety.
D. their staff get easier access to the internet.