VoIP 'spreading to UK emergency services'

Government departments and public services such as the NHS have recently chosen to upgrade their communications systems to VoIP, but a further growth area is the emergency services, according to reports.

Arno Sybrandy, global marketing director of digital voice recording firm CyberTech, said that back office installations of IP PBX systems have led the way for the police, fire and ambulance services.

However, there are also beginning to be VoIP services reaching the front line of duty, he suggested.

"Everyone has been talking about IP for the last couple of years and suddenly we are getting a lot of questions from public safety or emergency services about issues surrounding implementation," he told the British Association of Public Safety Communications Journal.

One example of the use of VoIP service by bobbies on the beat are officers in Dumfries and Galloway, where they can now keep in touch with headquarters from local stations across the county and receive calls securely without incurring charges.