BBS in a Box 15/BBS in a box XV-1.iso/Files/Internet/Info/Internet-services-fax-faq12.sit/internet-fax-faq-12.txt

Internet Message Format | 1995-04-28 | 16.8 KB | [TEXT/tefi]

Date: Thu, 27 Apr 1995 18:09:50 -0800
From: [e-mail] (Kevin Savetz)
Subject: FAQ: How can I send a fax from the Internet? (v1.2)

Archive-name: internet-services/fax-faq
Last-Modified: 1995/4/27
Version: 1.2

FAQ: How can I send a fax from the Internet?
Version 1.2 - April 27 1995

Send comments & updates to Kevin Savetz - [e-mail] .

This document is copyright 1994-1995 by Kevin M. Savetz. All rights
reserved. More legal stuff is near the end of this file. If you notice that
an Internet fax service is missing from this list, or information herein
needs updating, please send e-mail to [e-mail] .

*** TABLE OF CONTENTS
Can I send a fax from the Internet?
Free services
   TPC.INT Remote Printing
   FaxLine Sacramento Fax Service              *New e-mail address*
   University of Minnesota Fax Service
   IBAG Faxes to Phoenix                       *NEW*
   Swedish University Network
   fax.air.org - faxing to Hong Kong
Commercial Services
   Elvis                                       *info corrected*
   FAXiNET
   InterFax
   Interpage
   Stoic Fax/Telex Gateway                     *NEW*
   Unigate
Stupid Internet/Fax Tricks
   Universal Access WebFax
Fax Services that are no more
Legal Stuff
Where to Find this Document

*** CAN I SEND A FAX FROM THE INTERNET?
Indeed. There are several services for sending a fax via Internet mail -
some are free while others are pay services. At least one service even lets
you receive a fax via Internet mail. The e-mail-to-fax services that I know
about are discussed below. All the services require that you can send and
receive electronic mail to the Internet.

*** FREE SERVICES
+++ TPC.INT Remote Printing
One fax-from-the-Internet service is the brainchild of Carl Malamud (the
creator of Internet Talk Radio) and Marshall Rose. They're doing research
on how to integrate special-purpose devices, like facsimile printers, into
the fabric of the Internet. It works simply enough - send electronic mail
to a special address, and soon after (if your recipient's fax machine is in
a covered area), out comes a freshly-minted fax. You can send a fax to
multiple fax machines, or even a combination of faxes and traditional
e-mail recipients. After the deed is done, you will receive electronic mail
telling you if your fax was successfully sent or not. The service is free.

You can't send a fax just anywhere with this service. A variety of
companies, institutions and citizens linked to the Internet have joined the
experiment by linking a computer and fax modem to the 'net. When an
organization joins as a remote-fax server, it specifies what areas to which
they are willing to send faxes. When you send an e-mail fax message, you
(naturally) must include the phone number of the recipient's fax machine. A
computer looks at the phone number and decides if any participating fax
machines cover the area to which you want to send a fax. If so, your
message is routed to the appropriate machine for faxation. Otherwise, you
will receive electronic mail informing you the fax couldn't be delivered.

To send a fax by e-mail, send a message
     To: remote-printer.<info>@phonenumber.iddd.tpc.int

Where <info> contains information for the cover page.  In <info>, "/" is
turned into a line break and "_" is turned into a space.  For example, the
address:
     To: remote-printer.Arlo_Cats/[e-mail]

Would send a fax to [phone] with the cover page:
     Please deliver this facsimile to:
     Arlo Cats
     Room 123

Note: There's another way to address faxes which seems to work more
reliable sometimes. Note that the phone number is backwards and the numbers
are separated by periods.
     To: remote-printer.Arlo_Cats/Room_123@2.1.2.1.5.5.5.2.0.2.1.tpc.int

The following addresses can be used to obtain more information:
  [e-mail]  - Current fax coverage (automated reply)
  [e-mail] - Frequently Asked Questions (automated reply)
  [e-mail]           - Administrative questions (human)
  [e-mail]          - Majordomo mailing list agent
  [e-mail]     - Mailing list contributions (mailing list)

There's a WorldWideWeb page which provides information about the TPC.INT
fax service. If your Web browser can display forms, you can even fill out a
form and send a fax interactively. Use your favorite Web browser to connect
to:
    http://linux1.balliol.ox.ac.uk/fax/faxsend.html

+++ FaxLine Sacramento Fax Service
This service is a feature of a Sacramento, California-based bulletin board
system. You can use it to send faxes to areas that are a local call from
Sacramento, including the California State Legislature. This service is run
as a hobby and is connected to the Internet by UUCP, so it can take from 12
to 24 hours for your fax to be delivered or for the help files to reach
you. It does not support multiple addressing: only one fax number per
message. It also does not send a cover page, so be sure to start your
message with a note directing it to someone's attention. It will truncate
faxes longer than two pages (that's 132 lines).

To use this fax service, send e-mail
     To: [e-mail]
     Subject: local (7 digit) phone number, without area code
     Body: <text of fax>

For complete usage information, send e-mail
     To: [e-mail]
     Subject: 052

For a list of some legislators' fax numbers in the Sacramento area, send e-mail:
     To: [e-mail]
     Subject: 050

+++ IBAG Faxes to Phoenix
This Web-to-fax gateway will allow you to send free faxes to the Phoenix,
Arizona area (area code 1-602.) To use it, point your forms-capable Web
browser to:
    http://www.ibag.com/fax.html

+++ The University of Minnesota Fax Service
The University of Minnesota operates a fax gateway which allows students
and staff to send faxes anywhere. Even if you don't go to UMinn, you may
use the service to send faxes to folks at the University and exchanges
local to the campus.

The structure for e-mailing a fax is:
     To: /pn=John.Doe/dd.fax=234-5678/@fax.tc.umn.edu

Put your recipient's name, with a period between the first and last names,
after pn= and put the seven digit fax number after the characters dd.fax=.
This name will be printed in the "To:" field on the fax cover page. The
area code for the University of Minnesota is 612, so you don't need to
supply an area code.

For more information, send e-mail to [e-mail].

+++ Swedish University Network
The Swedish University Computer Network (sunet) has a national fax service
that can be used by anyone at no cost. Users in Sweden can use it to send
faxes all over the world but users outside Sweden can only use it for
telephone numbers within Sweden.

To send a fax to Arlo Cats at [phone] (that's international notation
for Sweden, phone number 08/765 43 21) send e-mail to:
     [e-mail]
Note that you will always have to preface the phone number with the letter
"F" for "fax".

Special characters in the body of your message are converted to Swedish
characters:

ASCII  Becomes                         ASCII  Becomes
  }    a with circle accent              [    A with diereses
  {    a with diereses (two dots)        \    O with diereses
  |    o with diereses                   `    e with right accent
  ]    A with circle accent

For more information, e-mail [e-mail]

+++ fax.air.org - faxing to Hong Kong
To send a free fax to Hong Kong, send e-mail
     To: [e-mail]
Don't include are or country codes, just the local Hong Kong fax number.
Attempts to dial numbers starting with 0, 1 or 99 will be rejected.

The service offers do-it-yourself logo and signature registration as well
as a "secure mode" compatible with PGP. For help or more information, send
e-mail:
     To: [e-mail]

*** COMMERCIAL (PAY-FOR-USE) SERVICES
+++ Elvis
This service allows you to send faxes to the former USSR, Europe, Japan,
the United States and Canada. The service is based in Moscow, so faxes to
the USSR are relatively cheap, faxes to the rest of the world are
relatively expensive. Prices listed are for "standard" fax mode.

For fax service to Moscow from former USSR: $0.40 / page
    fax service to former USSR from former USSR: $0.95 / page
For fax service to former USSR from elsewhere: $1.95 / page
    fax service to Europe and Japan: $2.90 / page
    fax service to USA and Canada: $3.80 / page
    fax service to other countries: $5.80 / page

It offers a WorldWideWeb interface at:
    http://www.elvis.ru/english/faxgate_interface.html

Or, you can access the service via an e-mail interface. For more
information, send e-mail to
     To: [e-mail]
     Body: help<return>english      (for help in English)
or   Body: help                     (for help in Russian)

You can reach a human via e-mail at:
     To: [e-mail]

+++ FAXiNET
Another fax-by-mail service is FAXiNET, which lets you send any text
(ASCII) or PostScript documents to virtually every destination that can be
direct dialed from the United States. For an extra fee, the company can
also receive faxes for you, which will be delivered to you via electronic
mail.

FAXiNET offers two rate plans. Plan 1 has a one-time activation fee of
$35.00, a monthly maintenance fee of $9.95 and a per-page transmission cost
(to US destinations) of 39 cents. Plan two, for lower-volume users, has a
one-time activation fee of $20 and no monthly maintenance fee; however
faxes cost 65 cents per page. International rates depend on the destination
country: from Albania ($2.25/page) to Zimbabwe ($2.52/page). Faxes to the
United Kingdom are 56 cents/page; Mexico is $1.52/page.

Additional services, including adding your custom logo and signature to
your faxes, are available at extra cost. Corporate accounts are also
available. More information is available from AnyWare Associates, FAXiNET,
32 Woodland Road, Boston, MA 02130. [phone]. E-mail: [e-mail]
(for automated response) or [e-mail] (for a human.) Information is
also maintained on FAXiNET's web server:
    http://www.awa.com/faxinet/

+++ InterFax
InterFax allows you to send faxes via e-mail within the US or
internationally. InterFax is a fee-based service (billed to your credit
card) but, unlike the services listed above, InterFax lets you send faxes
anywhere, not just select locations. As of this writing, InterFax costs $5
per month, which includes the first five fax pages. Additional pages cost
50 cents each. There is a one-time sign-up charge of $25. For further
information, send e-mail to [e-mail], or contact InterFax at PO
Box 162, Skippack, PA 19474 USA. [phone]. Fax: [phone].

+++ Interpage Fax Gateway
Interpage has a unique slant on the faxing-via-email: instead of charging
the sender of the fax, Interpage charges the recipient (who must have an
Interpage account.) The idea is that you can use Interpage to forward your
regular e-mail to you via fax, or you'll give your Interpage e-mail address
to correspondents that don't have access to a fax machine.

Interpage also offers the more common service of letting its customers send
text or postscript e-mail that turns into a fax.

Each Interpage Fax Gateway customer receives an e-mail address and a
configuration account. Customers may forward their regular e-mail to
Interpage for faxing, have correspondents send e-mail directly to their
Interpage accounts, or both. Interpage allows users to filter incoming
electronic mail in order to only fax messages from specific individuals,
for instance.

The charge for basic service is $5 per month plus $.20 per minute for faxes
destined for the United States or $.30 per minute to Canada. If a fax is
dispatched to an 800 number, there is no charge. There is a $10 sign-up
fee. There is a one week free trial period, although users will be
responsible for any toll charges they incur.

For more information:
    http://interpage.net
    [e-mail]
    1-203-499-5221

+++ Stoic Fax/Telex Gateway
A commercial service that sends faxes and telexes. Based in the Soviet Union.

For fax service to Europe: $1.36 / page
    fax service to North America: $2.90 / page
    fax service to Asia, Pacific Ocean Region: $2.24/page
    fax service to elsewhere; $2.46/page
For telex service to Europe: $1.58 / page
    telex service to North America: $2.68 / page
    telex service to elsewhere; $4.68/page

For more information, send e-mail to [e-mail] .

+++ Unigate
Unigate is another pay-for-use service that allows you to send faxes to
Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. It also allows you to
receive faxes as electronic mail. Unigate also handles e-mail-to-postal
mail conversion. Here's their price structure:
For fax service USA to Russia: $1.59 / page
    fax service from Russia to Canada: 1.79 / page
    fax service from Russia to Europe: 2.59 / page
For postal-mail service USA-Russia: $1.00 / page
    snail-mail service from Russia to Canada: 1.50 / page
    snail-mail service from Russia to Europe: 1.79 / page

For more information, e-mail [e-mail] .

*** STUPID INTERNET/FAX TRICKS
+++ Universal Access WebFax
This service doesn't have much to do with sending a fax via e-mail e-mail,
but it's interesting anyway: The Universal Access WebFax server allows
retrieval of most World Wide Web documents using any fax machine - no
Internet connection is necessary. It works this way: you dial the phone
number using the handset of your fax machine and enter the URL of the site
you wish to see on the Touchtone keypad (for instance, www.northcoast.com
is "99966784266") and, when prompted, press the "start" button on your fax
machine. The selected document will then be transmitted. It supports text
and display of forms, inline images, and will even play Web audio files
over the phone. The service is free, but you pay for the phone call to
Southern California.

For more information:
    http://www.datawave.net/
    or call 1-805-730-7777 from the handset of your fax machine

*** Fax Services That Are No More
Don't tell me about these. They have ceased to be.
- Digital Chicken was a service that let users send faxes to Canadian
government and citizens. Use TPC.INT instead.
- cssnet.sanford.nc.us fax server - no longer available due to hard drive crash.
- FaxLinq, which used to let users receive faxes via e-mail, was
discontinued in Jan 1995.

*** LEGAL STUFF
This document is copyright 1994-1995 by Kevin M. Savetz. All rights reserved.

All prices in US Dollars, unless otherwise indicated.

Permission for the following types of distribution is hereby granted,
provided that this file is distributed intact, including the above
copyright notice:
    - non-commercial distribution
    - posting to Internet archives, BBSs and online services
    - distribution by teachers, librarians and Internet trainers
    - inclusion on software/FAQ/Internet-oriented CD-ROMs

Permission for commercial distribution may be obtained from the editor.
SHARE THIS INFORMATION FREELY AND IN GOOD FAITH. DO NOT DISTRIBUTE MODIFIED
VERSIONS OF THIS DOCUMENT.

This document is always in transition. If you notice that something
important is missing, or information herein needs updating, please contact
the editor.

The editor and contributors have developed this FAQ as a service to the
Internet community. We hope you find it useful. This FAQ is purely a
volunteer effort. Although every effort has been made to insure that
answers are as accurate as possible, no guarantee is implied or intended.
While the editor tries to keep this document current, remember that the
Internet and its services are constantly changing, so don't be surprised if
you happen across statements which are obsolete. If you do, please send
corrections to the editor. Corrections, questions, and comments should be
sent to Kevin Savetz at [e-mail] (Internet) or "savetz"
(America Online/eWorld.) Please indicate what version of this document to
which you are referring.

*** WHERE TO FIND THIS DOCUMENT
On the WorldWideWeb: http://www.northcoast.com/~savetz/fax-faq.html

You can receive it via anonymous FTP:
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu:/pub/usenet/news.answers/internet-services/fax-faq
ftp://ftp.eff.org:/pub/Net_info/Technical/net-fax.faq

You can get it using Gopher:
gopher://gopher.eff.org/11/Net_info/Technical/net-fax.faq

This file is posted twice monthly (on the 5th and 19th of each month) to
the Usenet newsgroups alt.internet.services, alt.online-service,
alt.bbs.internet, alt.fax, alt.answers, comp.dcom.fax, comp.mail.misc,
comp.answers, and news.answers

You can receive each new edition of this document automatically via
electronic mail, if you are so inclined. This is a low-volume list, with
updates every few weeks. To subscribe, send e-mail:
     To: [e-mail]
     Subject: subscribe fax-faq
     Body: <ignored>

You can also receive it once via electronic mail (without subscribing to
automatic updates).
     To: [e-mail]
     Subject: archive
     Body: send fax-faq

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