Ofcom figures show UK VoIP subscriptions up

Consumer VoIP subscriptions in the UK grew by 27 per cent a year between 2006 and 2009, a new Ofcom survey has revealed.

According to the data, the number of VoIP subscribers per 100 people in the UK rose from three per cent to five per cent over the period.

Other European countries have been quicker to embrace VoIP, the report added, with more than a quarter of people in France and over ten per cent of Germans using the technology by 2009.

Slower growth in the UK "can be linked to the fact that voice lines often come with bundled voice calls, including 'unlimited' offers, similar to the managed VoIP offers in other countries", the study explained.

VoIP's share of fixed telephony revenues in the UK increased by three percentage points to four per cent, while the number of VoIP lines globally increased by almost 50 per cent, the research showed.

Recent statistics published by industry analyst Infonetics showed that worldwide demand for VoIP products increased in 2010.