Christmas savings with VoIP phones

Commuters could save enough money to buy 17 turkey crowns in the run up to Christmas by using technology like VoIP phones to work from home, research has suggested.

An Aastra-commissioned study found that working from home one day a week could save £174 for people who do 50-mile round trips by car to get to work - amounting to £19.36 a day.

However, the company's UK general manager, Michael Calvert, said that employers could potentially see as many benefits from more flexible work habits.

"Many companies could benefit from lower real estate and energy costs, higher morale, and increased staff retention," he said.

"Flexible working technologies such as VoIP phones can even reduce the cost of calls, while making corporate communications more effective."

According to a report from analysis firm TeleGeography last month, the number of consumer VoIP lines in Western Europe is speedily increasing.

The company's research indicated that there were 25.3 million lines at the end of 2007, up on 2006's total of 15 million.