VoIP News: August 2008

Web access has been linked to exam results in the latest internet access report from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Over eight out of ten (82 per cent) of those who achieved an A to C grade in their GCE/GCSE exams had internet access at home, compared to just under three quarters (74 per cent) of people with grades D to G.

The statistics also show that adults educated to degree level are the most likely to have internet access while those without any qualifications are the least likely.

These figures were backed up by an organisation which advises the government on educational IT, Becta.

It said that its research has found a link between academic success and access to technology, particularly broadband.

This research showed that schools making "good use" of broadband connectivity did better in GCSE results the year after broadband installation.

Becta chief executive, Stephen Crowne, said: "The evidence is clear; when schools use technology effectively, it can have a direct impact on pupil attainment and results."

Posted on: 2008-08-29, in: Broadband

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Companies should get their IP telephony solutions running correctly before they think about more elaborate scenarios like unified communications, according to an expert.

Joe Frost, vice president of marketing for Psytechnics, believes that there has been a lot of hype around unified communications, but says that his customers always say they have to get their IP telephony solutions right "before they would even consider moving toward a unified messaging environment".

"So what that means is in all the deployments we have, all the customers have been really focused on expanding the use of IP telephony."

Mr Frost also believes that while for larger enterprises, adoption of IP telephony is fuelled by its cost-saving benefits, things are different in the world of SMBs.

"What we've found is that, particularly in the SMB market, these companies were using IP telephony primarily, for the advantages of the communications of staying in touch, so some of the most popular features are being able to take your calls no matter where you are," he said.

"But more importantly, being able to take your calls where it suited your context."

Posted on: 2008-08-29, in: General VoIP

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Nearly a quarter of Britons have used wireless internet access from a PC in the last three months, according to a survey.

The Office for National Statistics found that 23 per cent had logged in with wireless, including using Wi-Fi hot spots and wireless broadband cards.

For Wi-Fi hot spots specifically, the figure was five per cent.

And around 15 per cent had surfed "on the move" using their mobile phone and four per cent had used a personal digital assistant in the last three months.

However, despite the figures, most access remains "place-based" rather than mobile, with 90 per cent of usage occurring at home.

Other locations that people were found to be accessing the internet included at work (44 per cent), at another person's home (20 per cent) and at an educational institution (14 per cent).

Also popular were public libraries and internet cafes, both on four per cent, while 11 per cent had come in other venues such as hotels, convention centres and airports.

Posted on: 2008-08-29, in: Broadband

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More households than ever have high-speed internet access, according to official figures, but some have claimed more needs to be done to deal with the "digital divide".

A report by the Office for National Statistics shows that 56 per cent of homes in the UK currently have broadband, compared with just 51 per cent last year.

Men were found to be the biggest internet users, with three-quarters of them having logged in over the last three months compared with 66 per cent of women.

However, it was found that those over 65 were the likely to use the web, with 70 per cent saying they had never gone online.

The Daily Telegraph reported that groups representing the elderly believed this was evidence that the government was not doing enough to get older people online.

"Exclusion from modern society is increasingly less about being able to get to the library and more about being able to access the rivers of information flowing in and out of British homes each day," David Sinclair, head of policy at Help the Aged, told the newspaper.

"If you cannot access these rivers you cannot take part."

Posted on: 2008-08-28, in: Broadband

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Wireless VoIP will become increasingly common in the business telecoms industry over the next few weeks, a new report has suggested.

Figures from ON World, a San Diego consultancy firm, predict that the number of people using mobile VoIP phones worldwide will reach 100 million by 2011, compared to just seven million in 2007, reports Business Week.

This means that mobile VoIP services could create $33.7 billion (£18.4 billion) in 2011, compared with just $516 million (£281 million) in 2006, the most recent year for which figures are available.

The cost benefit is the reason many subscribers switch to VoIP, with Business Week citing the example of Scott Goldman, a Californian-based consultant who uses his mobile to make international calls but doesn't have to pay for them because of VoIP.

While currently his VoIP traffic goes over his mobile network, with more and more Wi-Fi hotspots appearing he will be able to bypass it completely.

He told Business Week: "Once I can make calls using the Wi-Fi network I will, in all likelihood reduced the monthly minutes I have [with his service provider]."

Posted on: 2008-08-28, in: VoIP Hardware

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