Virgin Media a vestibule for VoIP traffic?

The demand for faster broadband services, and the access to online services such as VoIP solutions that comes with it, could be on the up.

The number of consumers paying for Virgin Media's high-speed internet service was up 46 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2010, the Guardian has said.

The cable communications provider said that the number of subscribers paying for 20Mb or 50Mb speeds now accounted for 16 per cent of its total broadband base.

High-speed broadband can enrich the users experience of IP telephony solutions by providing the speed and capacity needed to ensure that VoIP traffic flows reliably.

Virgin Media, set to launch a 100Mb service later this year, saw a 53 per cent increase year-on-year in broadband subscribers to 72,300 over the period, according to the Guardian.

Neil Berkett, chief executive at Virgin Media, said: "More customers than ever before are choosing faster broadband". Virgin Media's broadband customer base now stands at 4.2 million.

Use of wireless and broadband grew in 2009, despite it being a mixed year for the telecommunications industry, global communications markets research company TeleGeography said last month.