VoIP News: December 2007

Business leaders have called for regulation to improve broadband access to firms in rural areas to ensure they do not fall behind the competition. Demand for broadband across the UK must be met to keep the economy growing, according to the Confederation of British Industry. Broadband connections allow firms to take advantage of the web for marketing and sales purposes, as well as giving them access to technologies such as VoIP which can save them money and improve efficiency.

Providing broadband services over power lines has been predicted by industry analysts to be a major growth area in the next few years. Market research firm In-Stat forecast that the networking technology will be "a winner" due to its ease of installation and the fact it needs no extra cabling. "Management and conservation of energy have become the drivers for smart grid utility applications, where broadband and low-speed power line communications will play a role," said In-Stat analyst Joyce Putscher.

Threats against VoIP technology may be increasing as the technology grows in prominence, however an analyst has predicted that IP telephony will survive without exposing businesses to serious exploits. Hackers can use previously established techniques from breaking into data networks to also compromise VoIP connections. And there are also VoIP-specific threats such as voice spam and poor connection encryption that are being countered by experts.

Attempts by the European Commission to bring in a requirement for VoIP services to support emergency calls are being opposed by a new coalition lobby group. Counting among their ranks large suppliers such as Google, Intel, Skype and Microsoft, the Voice on the Net Coalition Europe was launched on Friday (14th December) and will attempt to influence the regulation of IP telephony solutions in Europe. In a statement, the group said it "will work to educate, inform and promote responsible government policies that enable innovation and the many benefits that internet voice innovations can deliver".

The decision by the UK telecoms industry regulator Ofcom to require VoIP services to support 999 calls will prompt further improvements, it has been suggested. Apart from simply making sure that IP telephony solution users will be able to call the emergency services if necessary, analyst Bill Pechey writing in IT Week said that there could be more general improvements to VoIP as well. He noted that the 999 change required alterations to Ofcom's General Conditions of Entitlement to bring VoIP services under its remit.