Many people are not aware of it, but Fax over Internet Protocol (FoIP), or Internet faxing, has been around for years. Every time you send a fax from a computer, you are actually using a form of FoIP. Over the years, Internet faxing didn't seem like your regular fax session, with the familiar beeps that let you know you're connected to the machine of your target receiver, and the tone that confirms a successful transmission. The latest generation of FoIP systems combines the benefits of traditional faxing with the cost savings of Internet transmission methods.



Also known as Internet faxing, FoIP is a method of sending faxes over the Internet. While VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) changes the transmission medium of a phone call, in the same way, FoIP changes the transmission medium of faxing. In both cases, data makes all or most of the trip between sending and receiving devices on a packet-switched network (usually the Internet), avoiding the long-distance phone lines of the circuit-switched telephone network. This reduces the cost of transmission and can be a more efficient setup for a business that already has access to Internet bandwidth.

The ?IP? in FoIP stands for Internet Protocol, which is the series of standards and steps used to transmit data over the Internet to the correct destination address. The fax information is transmitted as "IP packets" via the Internet instead of the conventional analog signals that are sent via phone lines. An IP packet is simply a chunk of data organized in a way that lets Internet routers and destination machines understand and decode what's inside it.

With Internet faxing, there is no need to buy a new fax machine. FoIP allows traditional 3G systems (third generation) to transfer data over the Internet using gateways between phone lines and the Internet. If you want to skip the phone lines altogether, you can use an IP fax machine that connects directly to the Internet. When you're transmitting a fax between two IP fax machines, the transmission cost is the same as that of sending an e-mail except that the transmission is much faster due to the broadband channel infrastructure.

Setting up an FoIP is much the same way as the VoIP setup. And you can even send Internet faxes using a VoIP server. The only difference is that a VoIP server doesn't automatically work seamlessly for transmitting faxes, since a fax requires more bandwidth than a voice. To do so would require some modifications by installing a piece of software. However, there are some companies that also make servers optimized for both VoIP and FoIP applications.

The key benefits of Internet faxing include:

? No Capital Outlay ?With no additional hardware to acquire, capital expenditures are reduced and depreciation schedules eliminated. The risks associated with installing 3rd party software on your network are eliminated as well.

? Utilization of Existing Infrastructure ? Because Internet faxing services leverage existing email client and infrastructure, getting started is quick and seamless. Another great benefit of Internet faxing is that you don't have to hire or train additional staff to run the system.

? Scalable and Flexible ? With Internet faxing, companies are not constrained by their number of outbound telephone lines or system capacity. Internet faxing is designed to be highly scalable to handle either rapid growth or reduced volume, based on market trends and patterns.

? Self-Administering ? The outsourced fax provider performs any required system maintenance and monitoring, upgrading and adding new features as they become available, freeing up your IT resources to focus on your core business.