The ability to stay connected to the internet whilst on the move is now seen as the top communications priority for businesses in the North West, according to recent research. Lancashire-based telecoms and IT firm, Daisy Group, analysed data from 2,985 UK businesses and discovered that, in the last six months, the demand for 4G for smartphones, tablets and laptops, has increased by nearly 300 per cent and spending on the technology has increased nearly four-fold.

Uptake of fibre broadband was the second largest area of communications technology growth, with the number of businesses upgrading the internet provision to their premises to business-grade connectivity more than doubling, with an increase of 204%.

Kate O’Brien, Marketing Director at Daisy Group, said: “Arguably, the more mobile a business and its staff are, the better placed it is to react to the changing market, so it’s no revelation to us that 4G is popular. What is surprising, however, is the growth rate for 4G. In popularity terms, it has overtaken fibre broadband, despite the Government extending its ‘Superfast Britain’ initiative which gives businesses grants of up to £3,000 to upgrade their broadband from copper to fibre optic cabling.

“The two most obvious reasons for this are that businesses are becoming less desk-based, or that they are upgrading the connectivity they already have on their company devices. In either case, it suggests that they are recognising a clear business need for reliable connectivity on the move.”

VoIP (voice over internet protocol) technology, which converts sound to data and transmits it over the internet, rather than over a standard phone line is also growing in popularity. SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) trunking in particular, which enables businesses to quickly and cheaply add extra lines to a standard phone system via the internet, has also dramatically increased in popularity, with spending on SIP trunking tripling, and the number of business premises utilising it nearly doubling (193%).

Kate O’Brien explained: “According to our research, VoIP, and SIP trunking, are really starting to take off. SIP trunking is effectively a half-way house between a standard PBX business phone system and a full VoIP system, and it seems that once businesses start experimenting with VoIP they are quick to explore its benefits further.”