VoIP use 'differs to legacy telephony'

Some businesses may be replacing their legacy telephone system with one that uses voice over internet protocol (VoIP), but use of the two technologies can vary significantly, a report has suggested.

Writing on TMCnet, Gary Kim said that although VoIP was increasingly becoming a replacement for traditional telephone lines, that did not mean users approached the technology in the same way.

VoIP users are more likely to use the system for long distance and international calls, he said, because of the savings offered compared to traditional telephony.

He cited research from iLocus that found 322.8 billion minutes of VoIP calls were made in the last quarter of 2007. Some 221.3 billion of these minutes were used on long distance calls, while international calls accounted for 19.8 billion.

However, he said, the "overwhelming percentage" of calls on traditional telephone lines was local - defined as a destination within 1,000 miles of the phone making the call.

A recent report on TMCnet stated that long distance calls over VoIP can be up to 60 per cent cheaper than traditional telecommunications.

In terms of worldwide VoIP use, Mr Kim said Europe, Middle East and Africa have the highest flow of traffic at 42.5 per cent, followed by North America with 38.2 per cent.