What is Internet Faxing
In short, internet faxing is exactly what it sounds like; it’s a cross between the
traditional, phone line-based faxing and web-based technology.
Many individuals and businesses find internet faxing useful for
communicating with others who still use old-fashioned fax machines. In effect, internet faxing is
similar to email but with a larger emphasis on document security. In any case, as long as some
people are still using traditional faxes—and this isn’t likely to change any time soon—internet
faxing will continue to fill a niche that email can’t serve.
The main advantages of internet faxing include:
- no need for an extra fax phone line;
- paperless document sending and receiving;
- the ability to receive multiple faxes at the same time;
- faxing from any location, rather than only at the office.
Some have argued that internet faxing is essentially no more secure than email, as
online faxes pass through servers and are often stored online even after users delete them.
However, most reputable internet faxing services counter this issue by taking extra security
measures that go beyond anything that email does.
With the rise of online faxing and its apparent staying power, many companies have
rushed to fill this demand. The large degree of competition has been great for consumers, as many
online fax services are now incredibly cheap. Plus, advancing technology has made internet faxing
very easy—practically as easy as sending an email.
For now, the best online
fax services charge anywhere between $10 to $20 for their basic monthly service, with larger
packages available. Basic service usually comes with around 200 to 1000 pages of incoming and
outgoing messages. In most cases, there is a small per-page fee for going over the monthly
allotment. Some services still ask their users to download special software, although he best ones
are now fully integrated into users’ email.
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