SPOTLIGHT: UK SMBs avoid VoIP

Doug Mohney — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 13:49:54 -0500

It's pretty bad when a VoIP provider says small and medium-sized businesses aren't using VoIP.

In a survey commissioned by Vitel, over half of UK SMBs interviewed had not even made an attempt to bring VoIP into their organizations. The main reasons cited were voice quality and the upfront cost of equipment. The survey, which polled more than 200 SMBs, cited poor call quality over ADSL as the biggest issue for 69 percent of businesses; another 47 believe that a leased line was necessary for VoIP, but it would cost too much.

However, 95 percent would like to adopt VoIP, provided the price of gear ("Kit" as they say) and call quality problems could be resolved.

For more:
- Reporting in the UK about SMB fear, uncertainty, and doubt about VoIP. Post.

Vyke targets Asian expats in UK

Pete Wylie — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:19:11 -0400

Vyke Communications, a London-based VoIP firm, has announced plans to target the Asian expatriate community in England. To validate the new marketing focus, the company cites an internal study that found 40 percent of expatriates keep in touch with friends and family in their home nation and often accrue huge cellular and text messaging bills in doing so.

Vyke seeks to offer this community VoIP services to reduce the cost of keeping up with loved ones. For instance, users of Vyke's FreeTxT application pay around 6 cents a text message, as opposed to 46 cents at standard cellular rates. Subscribers to Vyke's VoIP service get text messages for free.

The company has enlisted Indian-expatriate cricket star, Sourav Ganguly, to promote the Vyke VoIP service.

For more:
- netimperative.com reports on targeting Asia expats for VoIP