Fax Over IP

Fax over IP technology is reaching new speeds, thanks to solutions becoming available that make use of the V.34 fax modem specification, which builds on the capabilities of the T.38 fax relay standard to increase fax transmissions from 14.4 kbps to 33.8 kbps bidirectional transfer.

 

For example, Dialogic recently introduced a solution (the Brooktrout (News - Alert) SR140 software and DMG3000/DMG4000 media gateways) that supports the new, faster speed. FaxCore, a company that offers fax over IP solutions designed specifically for Brooktrout fax boards, is also taking advantage of the new technology to improve faxing for its customers.

 

The T.38 standard was developed in 1998 by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), thus enabling faxes to be transported across IP networks. This was an upgrade to the T.4 (and related) standards, developed in 1980 well before the Internet become so important for telecommunications.

 

Most VoIP systems are optimized for voice rather than data transmission, and traditional fax machines worked poorly if at all with IP networks. That’s why the ITU stepped in and developed T.38, which enabled the two technologies to, in a sense, talk to each other.

 

But, fax over IP was still hampered considerably when it came to speed. That’s because traditional fax modems were only capable of transmitting data at speeds of 14.4 kbps. Today, that’s changing thanks to the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T), which coordinates telecom standards on behalf of ITU. ITU-T has developed the V.34 standard to get around the speed problem.

 

Quite simply, V.34 is an updated recommendation for fax modems, which allows bidirectional data transfers at 33.8 kbps speed. That’s quite a boost, and the change—as its adopted in fax over IP solutions like that offered by FaxCore (News - Alert)—stands to greatly enhance the efficiency of business faxing.

 

 

 

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