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Voip and Faxing
Faxing over IP is more complicated than sending a traditional fax. Essentially, your fax must be converted from analog to digital, sent over the internet, and then translated back to its original format when it reaches its destination. There are numerous points along the way where your critical information can get lost or distorted.
Why it can be difficult
One of IP communication's greatest strengths is its ability to convert information into digitized packets that can be sent via multiple routes to the same destination. Once there, all the packets are automatically reassembled. This makes an IP transmission inherently choppier than one that travels over PSTN lines.
IP gateways, like the one in your voip internet phone adapter, use special packet-management strategies and buffers to help smooth out the flow of information. Legacy fax machines, however, don't have these tools. They rely on modems, which were engineered to operate on the PSTN.
If a packet gets lost or hung up en route, an IP gateway can simply request that it be transmitted again. Modems have no such ability, so a single missing or late packet can cause the entire fax session to fail.
What does the future hold?
While most fax machines are designed to operate with analog modems, manufacturers are working hard to develop machines more suited to IP transmission. In the meantime, there are third party options available that let you send and receive faxes via email. Our goal is to provide you with the best service possible; that's why, until fax equipment catches up with today's technology, voip.com isn't comfortable offering fax service. We won't put our name on it unless we're positive you're getting across the board reliability.
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