Ofcom update: Ofcom research reveals 22 per cent increase in UK broadband speeds

Ofcom today published its sixth report of UK broadband speeds which reveals that UK consumers are achieving 22 per cent faster broadband speeds at home than they were 12 months ago.

In November 2011, the average actual UK residential broadband speed was 7.6Mbit/s, compared with 6.2Mbit/s in November/December 2010, and 6.8Mbit/s in May 2011.

This increase was mainly as a result of consumers moving onto higher speed packages. In November 2011, for the first time more than half (58 per cent) of UK residential broadband connections had a headline, or advertised speed of above 10Mbit/s, up from 48 per cent in May 2011.

However, more than 4 in 10 broadband consumers remain on packages with speeds of 10Mbit/s or less even though many of them would be able to get a higher speed at little or no extra cost if they switched package or provider.

The full news release can be found here.

Merlin Telecoms systems made recruitment easier and more efficient for Accountancy Practice.

A client of Merlin Telecom for several years, this busy firm of Accountants recently embarked on a recruitment process at a time of year that was especially busy for them and so were looking for a method that would streamline the initial candidate selection process.

Merlin Telecom proposed a solution that would utilise the technological capability inherent in the telephone system to conduct first stage candidate screening via a voice-recorded process. Using this functionality of the phone system enabled the candidates to initially present their skills over the phone.

This initial pre-screening was highly successful and time-efficient; and the clients were delighted with the scope and flexibility of their phone technology to improve their business operation in a simple, yet effective way.

When considering a telecoms partner look for a supplier whose approach is to firstly understand your business so that they can provide the most appropriate and cost effective solutions for your business as it grows. Do not take everything at face value and ask searching questions about the products and proposals delivered.

Ofcom update: Second consultation on 4G spectrum award

Ofcom has today published a second consultation on its assessment of future mobile competition and proposals for the award of 800 MHz and 2.6 GHz spectrum and related issues. The consultation sets out a number of new proposals for making 4G mobile spectrum available in the UK. This includes proposals to extend coverage to at least 98% of the UK population and revised plans to promote competition.

News release: http://media.ofcom.org.uk/2012/01/12/proposals-to-extend-4g-mobile-coverage/

Consultation: http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/consultations/award-800mhz-2.6ghz

VoIP Telephony in the Catering Industry

In the competitive world of the catering industry and with the current squeeze on margins, business owners are continually looking for options to streamline costs without sacrificing the quality and delivery of their services. Telephones are vital to the success of any restaurant, as they offer customers a direct line of communication to make bookings and for staff to contact customers and suppliers alike. By using VoIP telephony, restaurant owners can reduce their monthly phone expenditure while at the same time improve their communication capabilities.

For busy restaurants a VoIP telephone solution can be configured to direct enquiries regarding business hours, locations and bookings to certain phones, and other types of calls such as purchasing or account enquiries to other phones. By using call routing the customer facing phone(s) will only receive calls related to the taking of bookings, handling advanced orders and customer care. Using call routing helps to reduce the barrage of phone calls to the reservation phone, and can also help to reduce the noise levels and distractions for restaurant customers.

Multi-site restaurants can benefit from VoIP telephony systems because they include free calls between locations, free conference calling and the ability to switch inbound calls to different locations if needed free of charge. The flexibility of VoIP telephony makes it easier for managers at different locations to plan events and promotions together, go over stock requirements and even share ideas without running up large call charges.


For businesses operating at a national level, the ability to choose geographical numbers from anywhere in the UK means that a restaurant chain operating in several counties can have one centre to answer calls and by routing the different numbers to the same centre, restaurant owners can provide customer focussed services from a central location while maintaining a local feel.