Voice over internet protocol (VoIP) application Skype does not meet the needs of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), one expert has said this week.

Provider of VoIP telephone calls and advanced switchboard services, Voipfone, made the claims, explaining that Skype is more suited to the needs of students.

Colin Duffy, chief executive of Voipfone, said: "Call quality isn't always great. But it's a wonderful little PC application which has changed an awful lot of the telephone industry.

"[However] as a business application, it's rubbish. Basically, the call quality isn't good enough."

He added that businesses many do not want to only be able to answer their phones when their PCs are switched on.

Furthermore, Mr Duffy asserted that companies often need a telephony system that is separate from their other IT operations.

Ofcom's annual Communications Market Report 2007 found that consumers are increasingly making use of VoIP services.

The report revealed that making phone calls online was up 14 per cent at the end of 2005

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