VoIP News: February 2009

Virgin Media has announced plans to upgrade millions of its customers currently on a 2Mbps service to a faster speed. Following a fibre upgrade to the capacity of its network, the company can now offer higher broadband speeds as standard to more customers. This includes the recently well-publicised service up 50Mbps which is being trialled in some areas of the UK.

Companies deploying VoIP solutions may experience improvement to their levels of customer service, a leading organisation claims. FrontRange Solutions has suggested that the use of self-service systems in unified communications such as VoIP can bring benefits to customer-facing processes. By introducing the technology into call centres, routine customer questions can be answered digitally without the need for a physical operator.

Businesses should invest in appropriate training for employees about the security issues and threats inherent in cheap broadband usage, a leading organisation claims. Get Safe Online has said that the recession could lead to a rise in cyber criminals who are determined to commit a variety of internet crimes. The organisation therefore advises firms to ensure that at least one employee is aware of the risks and how to protect the business against them.

Companies considering the deployment of VoIP are best served to view the technology as "voice plus whatever else you want to do", a leading website claims. According to ITWorld. com, the positive aspects of VoIP are most easily understood in simple terms meaning that companies should adopt a "back to basics" approach to the service.

Communications minister Lord Carter has defended the ambition of recently revealed plans to provide universal broadband to all UK households. In his interim Digital Britain report, the minister laid out a pledge to ensure all British homes should be able to access broadband of a minimum speed of 2Mbps by 2012. However, with tests already underway in some areas of the country for broadband up to 100Mbps, some commentators have criticised the ambition of the pledge.