A recent survey carried out by the New York-based market intelligence firm, Access Markets International (AMI), suggests that, while the steep costs of investing in telecommunications is deterring many business owners, the UK's smaller firms spent more than £20 billion on IT and telecoms in 2007.

Another study, involving the Institute of Directors (IoD), found that the same companies are risking losing business and falling even further behind their European counterparts because of their failure to grasp the benefits of communications technologies such as the Internet.

The FPB undertook a lengthy search involving a number of prospective telecommunications partners before selecting Chess, which was chosen because of the excellent reputation it has established over 15 years in the industry. In addition to holding ISO accreditations, Chess has won various business and industry awards, including the Federation of Communications Service's Service Provider of the Year.

Chess' reputation has enabled it to build excellent relationships with all major fixed line and mobile networks, meaning it can offer significant savings on business telecoms solutions. The partnership means that the FPB has been able to negotiate exclusive savings for members on Chess' range of telecommunications products and services, including fixed lines, calls, mobile, non-geographic numbers (NGNs), broadband and data solutions.