| Traditional fax machines have always posed a bit of a | | | | Changes in the fax industry |
| problem for VoIP networks. This is because VoIP | | | | But changes in the fax industry itself are threatening to |
| technology encodes analog sound in a specific manner | | | | do away with legacy fax systems. Unlike voice, fax |
| for transmission. Fax on the other hand requires | | | | doesn't require real time infrastructure and so functions |
| another method of encoding which doesn't work | | | | more like email. Many people fax printed documents |
| seamlessly with existing VoIP equipment. There are | | | | which are then converted to analog signals for |
| many ways of getting over this limitation and we take | | | | transmission. Instead, it's much easier to send the |
| a look at some of them as well as fundamental | | | | document itself as an email. |
| changes in the fax industry. | | | | There are situations however, when signed documents |
| Connecting Regular Fax machines to VoIP | | | | for example need to be sent and it's here that regular |
| A new standard has been developed for encoding fax | | | | fax machines provide a service. The cheap and easy |
| signals called T.38. Devices which implement this | | | | way of scanning a document and sending it makes it |
| protocol allow a fax to be sent over the VoIP network | | | | very hard to replace. |
| without any problem. Now either a fax machine itself | | | | Another way in which the Internet has transformed |
| can be Internet aware - also called IAF or "Internet | | | | fax is by the use of Fax servers. These accept a fax |
| Aware Fax" - or a device can be attached that | | | | message from a regular fax machine over good old |
| converts the analog signals from a regular fax | | | | PSTN. However, instead of sending it to another |
| machine into the format required by T.38. But even this | | | | machine, the server makes provisions for the receiver |
| isn't enough by itself. To handle the fax signals properly, | | | | to get it by email instead. This ensures that no one else |
| even the VoIP gateway has to be T.38 enabled. Once | | | | can read the fax and saves the receiver the trouble |
| this happens, the signal can be properly handed over | | | | of digitizing it once again if necessary. |
| to the Internet. | | | | It'll take a few more years for the Internet fax industry |
| With these modifications, it might be as simple as just | | | | to stabilize. But even now, organizations are able to do |
| plugging a fax machine into a VoIP adapter instead of | | | | away with a lot of wastage and outdated |
| a phone jack to get fax seamlessly working. | | | | infrastructure by making use of fax with VoIP. |