Business VoIP (voice over internet protocol) is just one of the enhancements for local businesses being suggested by the administrators of a local fund set up to fully exploit the benefits of newly installed superfast broadband in the Cornwall region.
The fund – totalling £2 million, and being managed by the Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) – has already been used to contribute towards a scheme by a local company, Doble Quality Foods, involving the development of an improved web-based ordering service for further education institutions both in and around the Cornwall area.
The LEP has now called on other businesses in the region to come forward with proposals on how they could use the fund to acquire one of the many value-added services made feasible through superfast broadband. The LEP Chair, Chris Pomfret, said:
“Superfast broadband is a great opportunity for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, giving us a competitive advantage over other areas, but what’s really important is that businesses utilise it to its full potential.”
Echoing the LEP’s call for businesses in the region to apply to the fund in order to develop value added services on the back of superfast broadband, Cornwall Council’s Portfolio Holder for Economy & Regeneration, Chris Ridgers, said:
“The fund can be used by any business in any sector to maximise the use of superfast broadband
“Projects could include taking advantage of e-commerce and cloud computing, video conferencing or installing VoIP, which provides communication services using the internet rather than the telephone network.”
The advantages of acquiring business VoIP capability in particular have been well-documented. These include far greater, and significantly simplified, control over the allocation and scale of phone extensions within business phone systems, the ability to use the same extension in different locations and the potential for lower monthly phone costs.
