Another council prepares for VoIP traffic

Local IP telephony solutions have been boosted off the back of news of Herefordshire Council's plans for heavy development of its broadband network.

Herefordshire Council will be developing a major broadband network to make sure that the area, ?which is relatively remote, and spread out - will not miss out on Britain's digital revolution.

Broadband networks support high-bandwidth internet products, such as hosted telephony, streaming video or data mining. By aggressively upgrading its broadband network, Herefordshire Council is choosing to take control of its own internet infrastructure.

The plans were listed in a public document titled "Shaping our Place 2026", which, from next week, will be undergoing a period of public consultation.

The initiative is one which is symbolic of councils' attempts to modernise their networks so that they can come up to the level which was spoken about in the Digital Britain report - ?a countrywide, 99 per cent penetrative network of high-bandwidth broadband.

The modernising plans come after a pilot scheme in the Kingstone parish area of the county.