VoIP solutions could be used by emergency service teams in the future, according to experts. During many natural disasters, standard call networks are often destroyed or damaged to such an extent they can not handle user demand.

IP telephony solutions are capable of providing continued service during such events through satellites, as was the case earlier this year in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake.

Jack Deasy, civil programs director at satellite communications provider Inmarsat, claimed that VoIP solutions provide immediate contact between the victim and the emergency services.

He told US IT website gcn.com: "Voice is the primary communications channel people want in a disaster."

Mr Deasy added that trapped residents used static communication, such as e-mail and text messages, to alert the emergency teams to their location.

Around 30 per cent of Haiti's terrestrial phone network was wiped out by the tragedy, with much of the gap filled by IP satellite communications.