11 August 2006

Ten per cent of UK households are now using various forms of internet telephony, thanks to the runaway success of broadband.

According to a report into the communications market published by regulator Ofcom on Thursday, more than 1.8 million households were using VoIP in May 2006. Much of the uptake is being driven by new devices that enable people to use Voice over IP without having to turn on their PC.

Such devices include Vonage's handset, which plugs directly into an ADSL-enabled wall socket, and BT's Home Hub, which allows users to connect any handset directly into the IP-driven media hub itself.