In an effort to save money on phone bills and advance technology, small businesses of one to four people are predicted to spend about 83 percent more by 2015 on broadband IP telephony services, according to a new survey by In-Stat research.

The service would be used to make voice calls over an IP network, which would work in much of the same way as a traditional telephone system. Greg Potter, a research analyst at In-Stat, said the service would be a low-cost way to have a telephone system for small offices and would have "negligible" long-distance rates.

However, Potter said the broadband IP telephone systems don't typically come with service level or quality-of-service agreements that many small and mid-sized businesses need to purchase such a system.

According to Polycom, a unified communications specialist business that will be offering small businesses a new video and audio conferencing service called RealPresence Ready, small businesses are already looking to spend on new technology. The company said small businesses could spend upwards of $125 billion this year on new gadgets and systems.

Polycom said video conferencing is becoming a popular tool for small businesses, much like IP Broadband telephone systems.

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