The number of people making voice calls over the internet has increased, new figures have revealed.

Data from Ofcom showed that 21 per cent of web users had a VoIP account in May 2008, up from the 14 per cent that were making use of such services in the previous year.

The amount of broadband connections also increased over the 12-month period, with 68 per cent of households having high-speed internet in 2008, a ten per cent increase on the figure from 2007.

Partner at Ofcom's strategy and market developments operations Peter Philips stated that people are also opting to consolidate their digital communications into one package in order to save money.

"We are becoming more canny about the way we pay for these services," he remarked, noting that almost half rely on a single supplier for more than one service.

This is a trend that is replicated elsewhere, with data from TeleGeography recently revealing that, at the end of 2008, there were 34.6 million VoIP users across Europe.

Almost a quarter (24 per cent) of fixed-line telephone subscribers now use internet-based technology for telecommunications, with the sector generating revenues of €4.1 billion (£3.49 billion).