Fax Via Internet

by Matt Gerchow

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Rather than using traditional faxing through telephone networks, fax via Internet is a more convenient way of sending and receiving document facsimile in this modern wired society. This whole process is executed without the need for the actual fax machine which makes it very convenient and more efficient.

Furthermore, an extra telephone line is no longer necessary when faxing through the Internet. Since the entire process is integrated with the email server, this type of communication becomes paperless and thus more environmentally friendly than the traditional method.

Traditional fax has practically no technical advantage over Internet fax, except maybe for the relative ease of just simply feeding the document into the hopper and dialing the corresponding phone number. With Internet fax, however, the automated process accepts various file formats without the need for hard copies since emails, scanned documents, and graphics files can be used as document facsimiles.

More than the convenience realized by using Internet fax, confidentiality of important documents is also protected since copies can be sent directly to the email account of the recipient. This process is more private compared to the machine that sits on the table often used by several people.

Other online fax services are Web-based, thus, no additional software installation is required. In addition to all these features, mobility is another key advantage since the Web interface can be accessed from any computer through any Internet-enabled browser.

For Web-based services, an Internet fax server or gateway is necessary. The additional server or gateway is required so that communication with traditional fax machines is enabled.

Eliminating the need for the device itself and extra sheets of paper makes fax via Internet a cheaper and more efficient alternative. Communication costs are even dramatically reduced especially if document facsimiles are exchanged overseas, which would otherwise incur additional long distance fees if transmitted through a standard telephony system.