Vendor Gamma Telecom has singled out its channel partners for praise after selling more than 100 million IP minutes in one month for the first time.

Gamma claims the need to replace old systems is driving the growth in IP telephony and is helping the vendor's reseller community stave off the effects of the economic downturn. The vendor highlighted recent research from Frost and Sullivan which claims that almost three quarters of the 48.4 million business telephone lines shipped worldwide last year were IP-capable.

The research house also predicted that by 2013 more than 63 million new IP-capable lines will have been installed.

Gamma's group marketing director Richard Bligh said: "Reaching this milestone at Gamma is more evidence that IP telephony is gaining traction and is becoming an attractive option for UK businesses. We are confident that we will be working with our channel partners long after the credit crunch is behind us, helping them to grow their businesses as IP telephony becomes ubiquitous across the UK.”

Jack Michalski, chief executive at Gamma reseller Welcome Telecom added: “We have seen a huge increase in the number of businesses interested in IP-based phone systems. The great thing about working with Gamma is that they let us introduce our customers one step at a time to the new systems. We do not have to rip out and replace the old, trusted systems all at once, leaving a ‘safety net’ for the customer."