Since the UK went into lockdown in March, most of us have been sticking to the rules well and self-isolating as much as possible. That means a lot of people in their homes, looking for ways to stay busy, stay entertained and stay connected to the outside world. More than ever before, we’re leaning on our home broadband connection for streaming services, video calls with loved ones and for working from home.

In the first week of lockdown, Vodafone said its UK broadband network saw an increase in use of around 15%, with daytime usage on weekdays now mirroring a typical Sunday, typically the busiest day of the week with people streaming films and new TV episodes.

If you’re working from home, broadband will be crucial. Email is a great way to stay in touch with people, but you can’t beat the immediacy of a phone call. Yet it can be frustrating having to use a personal mobile or your home phone for business; most people would prefer to stick to a business number and give that out as normal. So is this possible at home?

VoIP usage skyrockets during lockdown

Following the Government’s directive for people to stay at home and work at home where possible, Vodafone saw a 28% increase in people using VoIP phone calls (made via broadband) in the first week of lockdown. So VoIP is proving popular, but why?

If you’ve got a broadband connection at home, a VoIP handset can be plugged into your internet connection, retaining the same phone number anywhere in the world. That means if your work phone was a VoIP phone, you can take it whether you want with you, keeping your work line open, also getting over the dilemma of handing out a personal number to work contacts.

For businesses, the system has a great range of fantastic call handling features, including easy transferring to route calls where they need to go, automated receptions to direct people to the right departments and even emergency messages telling people a change in opening hours or operations.

All of these features can make communicating during Coronavirus lockdown that much easier. The VoIP app can also connect mobiles into the system and make video calls easy.

It should remain popular once lockdown is lifted

While VoIP is a modern technology that’s proven particularly useful during lockdown, it has long term benefits for anyone using it.

• Once a VoIP system is set up, you’ll see costs drop almost immediately. It uses the internet connection, so it reduces costs on multiple phone lines, eliminates the need to pay for added services like video calling, plus if your business makes calls to overseas, long-distance charges are reduced.
• Adding new lines and numbers is easier with VoIP than traditional systems.
• You’ll be ahead of the curve as BT plans to “switch off” all the country’s traditional phone lines by 2025.

If you’re interested in finding out more about VoIP, give us a call on 01237 420010.