Half of UK consumers are aware of VoIP, but take-up of internet telephony remains low, according to Ofcom.

The regulator's Interim Report into the UK's Communications Market found that 49 per cent of UK consumers are aware that calls can be made over the internet. This rises to 59 per cent among internet users and 63 per cent among broadband users.

Despite this awareness, VoIP usage remains relatively low with only nine per cent of internet users hooking up to VoIP in Q3 2005.

The report also found that 57 per cent of the UK's 15.5m internet connections were over broadband, with almost 9.8m connections at the end of December.

Traditional phone services face continued pressure, experiencing a nine per cent fall in fixed line revenues to £10.3bn for the year to September 2005, Revenues from mobile communications grew 16 per cent for the year to £13.6bn. ®

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