Fax Over Internet Protocol

What Does Fax Over Internet Protocol Mean?

Fax over Internet Protocol (FoIP) is a fax technology that uses digital packets for Internet transfer. Two key FoIP approaches are store forward and real time. Store forward uses email to transfer data from a source to destination. Real-time is similar to traditional phone line faxing, where IP data packets transfer from source to destination via high-level IP, such as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) or User Datagram Protocol (UDP). FoIP is also known as IP faxing.

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Techopedia Explains Fax Over Internet Protocol

FoIP standards include:

  • IP packet data that use routers for decoding.
  • Data transmitted via phone, IP gateway or fax modem.
  • Configurations, including traditional G3 to G3 fax machine, fax-equipped personal computer (PC) to G3, IP fax machine to G3 and IP fax machine to IP.

FoIP implementation follows a series of sequential steps, as follows:

  • Sender transmits signals to receiver.
  • Fax session is initiated.
  • Receiver responds.
  • Sender establishes a connection.
  • Faxing begins.
  • Each machine exchanges digital control signals that describe page color, size and supported [n1] [n2] data compression, etc. G3 machines use the T.30 protocol to encode digital data as analog and decode analog data as digital.
  • Sender scans data and produces a digital bit series represented by black and white converted analog pages.
  • Receiver decodes the data, reads each bit and prints data based on bit instructions. The T.38 protocol, used for image data compression and integration (G3), is a real-time FoIP protocol that supports T.30 and converts traditional fax data into an Internet-friendly format.
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Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…