VoIP News: April 2007

A survey of 291 European companies has found that 93 per cent believe that instant messaging (IM) and voice over IP (VoIP) usage is moving faster than corresponding security. The company said that although there has been some adoption of VoIP, it is not yet a widely deployed technology the corporate sector although it was being used a lot by travelling executives. However, it said that many small companies have rushed to take advantage of reduce costs.

Broadband provision in the UK needs to be upgraded and developed within two years otherwise there could be significant social and economic consequences, claims a new report. The Broadband Stakeholder Group (BSG) is calling on the telecoms industry and the government to do more to ensure that the UK remains at the forefront of broadband technology across the developed world and does not fall behind its main competitors.

A new study has predicted that telephone companies are to spend a record amount on broadband infrastructure equipment this year. Research from iSuppli revealed $42 billion will be spent on equipment this year. Global broadband subscribers will increase to 622.

A new report claims that the growth in demand for broadband managed services in the SME market is creating a new potential source of revenue for suppliers of broadband access services. Research and Markets says that "billions of euros in additional annual revenue are ready to be shared among suppliers that can provide SMEs with the right service packages to complement basic internet access".

Businesses are unsurprisingly taking advantage of the increasing service offerings and reduced costs offered by VoIP, but are surprisingly not abandoning traditional voice lines, In-Stat reports. The research company said that VoIP is currently used by 20 per cent of US businesses, but 44 per cent of these businesses' voice lines remain Time Divisional Multiplexing (TDM) systems. "VoIP is particularly attractive to businesses with dispersed workforces, where long distance savings can be easily achieved," said David Lemelin, In-Stat analyst.