Ofcom suggests monthly fee could help prioritise VoIP solutions

A new Ofcom report has suggested that monthly fees could be imposed to allow customers access to prioritised bandwidth for VoIP solutions and other applications.

The report from the broadband industry watchdog suggests that a fee of up to £3 a month could be paid in addition to a web user's monthly internet service provider (ISP) costs and in return customers could secure prioritised bandwidth for VoIP hardware and other services.

Charges could help provide better services at times when online traffic is high, while also reflecting the increasing value of material available through services such as video on demand.

The report stated: "In the case of extreme traffic demands, the costs to do this (delivering video-on-demand, VoIP solutions and other services) might be in the region of £1 to £3 per household per month on top of existing ISP subscriptions."

In other broadband news, a new mobile system developed by Towcester-based company Entiva Systems could allow web users to check their email, use VoIP solutions and browse the web while on holiday through a single remote box, according to newelectronics.co.uk.