Press & PR

More than half of companies in the UK are now making at least some use of internet-based voice calls (IP telephony), according to new research.

In a poll of 115 firms conducted by Extreme Networks and partner Data Integration, it was found that 59 per cent of companies make calls over their local area network (Lan) connection.

And there was a high level of satisfaction with these IP services, with 88 per cent of respondents saying they were happy with using them.

Commenting on the results of the survey, Christian Harris of BIOS industry magazine suggested that more companies will soon make use of IP telephony services.

"Now is the time to be thinking about your IP-readiness if you're considering making any changes to your voice system or Lan," he said.

"You need to ensure that the changes you make now will be part of a sustainable, ongoing communications strategy and that you're not walking down a technology black hole."

Businesses can tap into the potential of the web and reduce their call costs by signing up to a voice plan from industry leader Vonage.

Unlimited calls to the UK and Ireland are available for just £5.99 a month per line under VonageV-Plan 1, while there are other options on offer up to V-Plan 5 which spreads the free calls to 45 countries for £18.99 a month.