Ofcom finds UK public slow to adopt VoIP

According to a new study by industry regulator Ofcom, only 17 percent of broadband-connected adults have used VoIP services at least once, while only 14 percent of these use it every day.

Other research discovered that people who do use the Internet for telephone calls are more likely to have both mobiles and landlines than the average adult in the UK.

The findings run against predictions that VoIP is poised to replace more traditional telephone services and point to the technology still being at an early-adopter stage.

Although adoption of VoIP is increasing in the UK, with around 2.4 million, or 9 percent of total UK households having used VoIP, this is still far behind countries such as France and the Netherlands, where around 27 percent of households have used VoIP.

UK users could be deterred from adopting VoIP because they are currently not able to sign up for a broadband line without having to pay for a traditional phone line as well.

Lack of confidence with new technology and reports of low-quality calls with VoIP have also been cited as possible deterrents.