VoIP News: September 2008

Mobile broadband will be pushed as an alternative to Wi-Fi by a new alliance of IT and mobile companies. Companies like Microsoft, Toshiba and Vodafone make up the 16-strong group, which is backing a GSMA-led move to make a new category of always-connected mobile broadband devices. The first phase of the initiative will see the technology pre-installed on various notebook PCs which will be able to go online as soon as they are turned on.

Most businesses are not considering a move to software as a service (SaaS), according to research by BT. A survey by the company found that 81 per cent of the telecom giant's customers did not know much about SaaS and had not thought about employing it at their company, reports silicon. com.

China now has more broadband lines than the USA, making it the biggest broadband user in the world, according to research. Analysis by Point Topic found that while both countries had roughly 78 million lines at the end of August, China was growing at double the rate of the USA. Oliver Johnson, Point Topic chief executive, believes the news is perhaps more significant than the country's first foray into space.

IPTV (Television over the internet) subscriptions will reach 19. 6 million globally by the end of 2008, a rise of 64. 1 per cent from 12 million last year, according to research from Gartner.

The European Commission (EC) has launched a debate on how to provide broadband access to every European household by 2010. According to EC figures, seven per cent of the EU's population do not have access, with the number 30 per cent in rural areas. There is also disparity between different member states - Denmark, Belgium and Luxembourg all have 100 per cent coverage, while the figure is less than half in Romania and even the likes of Italy and Germany only reach 82 per cent and 88 per cent respectively.