The number of residential broadband connections will increase by 88 per cent from their June 2007 levels within the next four years, fuelling a growth in voice over internet protocol (VoIP) technology, according to a new report.

In its study of 16 western European countries, Stuttgart-based market research company Infocom says that the rise will lead to broadband achieving 68 per cent market penetration.

In turn, this will support accelerated growth for VoIP use, with Infocom predicting that it will achieve 50 per cent coverage of the consumer market by 2012.

This equates to 87.8 million household subscriptions, an increase of 240 per cent rise from June 2007.

Countries like Spain and Greece, where VoIP take-up has been relatively slow, will experience the fastest growth the report says, while expansion in more advanced VoIP nations like the Netherlands and France will even out.

However, the report predicts that the Netherlands will overtake France as the leading VoIP country in Europe in terms of market penetration, thanks to the popularity of its broadband sector and competition between providers.