VoIP News: July 2009

More than half of broadband users in the UK think the future of connectivity in Britain should lie with fibre optic networks, according to research from ISPreview. co. uk.

Government funding may not be needed to help reach targets set out in the recent Digital Britain report as web access could soon be available in many different ways. According to City University London, the growth of technologies such as Internet Protocol Television and web access on mobile devices is increasing the availability of the internet and could relieve any pressure for the government to invest.

Passengers with their own laptops and VoIP hardware will be able to use this technology and browse the web through a new internet service in selected Flybe lounges. The carrier is to introduce internet facilities at six of its lounges in the UK, with nearly five million BT broadband customers having free access to the service in locations such as Gatwick, Edinburgh and Birmingham. Some O2 customers will also be able to use the service, while people already signed up to rival internet service providers will have the option of buying access vouchers in the lounges.

Micro-blogging site Twitter is proving an effective tool for web users looking for swift action from their internet service provider (ISP) when they have internet problems. Many ISPs have come under fire recently for failing to provide good customer service, but a range of companies are now posting dozens of 'tweets' every day as they respond to service issues discussed on the Twitter network by their users, reports Top 10 Broadband.

Major internet service provider (ISP) Virgin Media has enlisted the help of SamKnows, the technical partner of industry regulator Ofcom, to test its new fibre services. The ISP has spent the last 18 months upgrading its broadband network to next-generation fibre optic technology to enable customers to receive connections of up to 50 megabits per second and it is keen to get an accurate measure of actual speeds its users are getting.