Network cables supplying telephone connections to thousands of UK businesses are at risk from natural disasters and technology failures, it has been revealed.
According to research conducted by Voice over IP (VoIP) provider Inclarity, one third of office workers have seen their company phone connections severed as a result of flooding, power cuts, equipment faults or road works in the last 12 months.
Some 60 per cent of those affected said the disruption had lasted a full day, costing significant losses to revenue and productivity.
Dave Millett, chief operating officer at Inclarity, said companies need to take steps to safeguard their telephone systems in the event of damage to their network cables.
Indeed, almost two-thirds of employees questioned said they did not know whether their company had any disaster recovery measures in place to cope with phone disruption.
"Communication is the foundation stone of any successful business. Companies need to put more emphasis on ensuring that their phone system is as protected from downtime as they do with other areas such as network and data access," he remarked.
Inclarity's operating platform currently supports more than six million dedicated VoIP lines.
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Last Updated: 01/08/2008 17:15
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