Skype dominates VOIP

Skype accounts for 95% of all VOIP traffic on the net in a large part of the World, but P2P is the dominant consumer of bandwidth, accounting for over 90% of Internet bandwidth during the night, according to IT Wire.

ipoque claims to have analysed three petabytes of anonymous data representing over one million users in Australia, Eastern Europe, Germany, the Middle East and Southern Europe during August and September 2007

It says: "VOIP only accounts for 1% of the Internet traffic, but is used by 30% of all users. Skype is by far the most popular Internet telephony application."

Industry regulator Ofcom said from September 2008 operators of VOIP services will be required to provide access to the `999` emergency services number, reports thinkbroadband.com.

There has been much discussion within the industry about the issue of emergency calls for operators. Some operators have expressed concerns about the stability of VOIP for life-or-death situations, since it relies on an Internet connection which is more likely to fail than a simple phone line.

This is further complicated by the arrangements that need to be put in place by operators to ensure a consistent and reliable access to `999` emergency services, which can also be dialled by using the `112` code more frequently seen in the rest of Europe.

One out of every 12 people in Canada is using VOIP and the demand for it in Canada is increasing, states VOIP News.

Though cost reduction in long-distance calls is VOIP`s most useful benefit for businesses and homeowners alike, VOIP offers so much more.

At many companies, VOIP unifies communication channels and integrates into various business applications (such as customer service), thereby improving productivity and company image.