The British government has announced that they will continue plans to invest in the countries broadband infrastructure. Many will think of this as good news, amongst them VoIP providers and users.

High speed broadband can dramatically improve the quality of VoIP. The better and faster a broadband signal is, the better the quality of VoIP will be. The general improvement over the years in broadband connections is one of the main reasons why the quality of VoIP has improved. The technology itself has got better but improving broadband has been a major factor.

VoIP is a type of communications technology where instead of travelling over a telephone line the signal travels over the broadband connection. Therefore a better broadband signal results in a clearer VoIP signal.

The British government has vowed to continue the planned investment in the improvement of broadband over the next few years. With the recent comprehensive spending review many expected them to cancel the plans, or at least cut back on the amount being spent. This was not the case though. This £530 million investment will mean around 2 million homes in rural areas will gain access to faster broadband by 2015. The cost is high, something that some may question at a time of cutbacks. The money is not coming directly from taxes though. £300 million is coming from television licence money, with the other £230 million coming from the under spend on the switchover from analogue to digital television.

The aim is for Britain to have the best superfast broadband in Europe and it is being seen by supporters as an investment in the economy. It has been claimed it will result in an improvement in information and communications technology and could improve business productivity. It is hoped that it will lead to more business opportunities, especially within the telecommunications industry, and therefore job creation and growth in the economy.

The government investment is good news for those who wish to use VoIP, both those using home VoIP and business VoIP. Some who are currently unable to use VoIP due to the lack of adequate broadband may in future be able to use this technology. Others, who due to a poor broadband connection are unable to use VoIP to a high standard now, should see an improvement in the quality of their VoIP calls. VoIP still has a reputation amongst many of being of poor quality (although this is somewhat inaccurate with the top providers) but with these improvements in broadband this could be a thing of the past.

Andrew Marshall (c)