More than 120m EU residents have a broadband connection

Over 120 million residents throughout the European Union (EU) now have a broadband connection, meaning more people can use VoIP solutions.

The figure from InfoCom shows a year-on-year increase of nearly 20 per cent, with the majority of people using an xDSL connection, while nearly ten per cent more people have the option of installing web access in their homes through an increase in penetration, reports BroadbandFinder.co.uk.

An increased number of subscribers could lead to more people being able to make free or low-cost phone calls using VoIP hardware.

According to InfoCom, the proliferation of broadband connectivity across Europe will only increase over the coming years, with rural networks forecast to be particularly popular.

The price of connecting every UK home to a next-generation network could approach £30 billion, with the costliest task being the laying of fibre cabling in communities that are significant distances from telephone exchanges.

In the meantime, the government has set a universal connectivity target of two megabits per second to be achieved by 2012.