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An industry analyst has claimed that the popularity of VoIP is killing off the traditional home phone number.

In its latest report, JupiterResearch says that location is becoming increasingly irrelevant and that the surge in fixed/mobile services is popular with Europeans.

According to the report 27 per cent of European consumers would prefer to use their mobile phone at home, rather than their traditional fixed-line systems. The move to 100 per cent digital will finally unhinge analogue and, thus, traditional numbering models.

Ian Fogg, who lead Jupiter’s research said the lure of VoIP lies in its price and its flexibility and that at least 17 per cent of European consumers had already expressed an interest in the technology. Another 21 per cent said they would prefer to have their incoming calls directed to their mobiles when at home.

Fogg said: “We don’t believe people actually know what VoIP is yet… What we do believe is that they want flexibility and mobility.”

Fogg believes the battle to put VoIP in the homes of European consumers was already well under way with so-called ‘last mile’ providers in a strong position to bundle VoIP packages direct to the consumer.

“Broadband Internet access is powering this transformation of the home telephone. But broadband threatens to become a Trojan horse as it enables mobile operators and Internet competitors - like Skype, Tesco, Vonage, and Microsoft - to compete with traditional telephone companies and Internet Service Providers,” said Fogg.

He added: “Both mobile operators and Internet VoIP competitors must lobby to ensure that their VoIP services operate unimpeded across other ISPs’ connections. Or, they must be prepared to invest in fixed broadband, to ensure security of network supply for their VoIP services.”