A look at the technology behind Nxgens Fax solutions

Technology

How Fax Over IP Works

Our NET SatisFAXtion solution is designed to allow users to quickly and easily connect standard fax machines and analog phones to IP networks.

Utilizing the T.38 standard and leveraging https, faxes are sent reliably, securely traversing company firewalls and NAT (network address translation). Other IP fax solutions require ports and endpoints opened on firewalls. This is less secure, and can be problematic in the field as faxes get hung up and lost over the network.

The NET SatisFAXtion solution works with both 2G (CDMA) and 3G (HSPA/ HSPA+) networks, and is future proof for the up and coming LTE (Long Term Evolution) network. Our solutions are also compatible with satellite, DSL, and cable connections.

HTTPS

Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure – a combination of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol with the SSL/TLS protocol to provide encrypted communication and secure identification of a network web server

T.38 Protocol

T.38 has become the standardized protocol for sending analog faxes over IP. Developed in 1998, it provides a way to permit faxes to be transported across IP networks.

Faxing will not be consistent on regular VoIP systems as they are optimized for voice rather than data calls. Conventional fax machines work poorly or not at all due to network impairments such as delay, jitter, and packet loss.

Please note that other IP fax solutions are available, but are not future proof.

Legacy Fax Solutions

Faxing over cellular networks in the past has been accomplished using circuit-switched data or analog hardware. Circuit-switched data (CSD) is poorly supported and provides no roaming or IP capabilities. Devices that rely on circuit-switched data (also known as IS-95) are “single use” devices. Each time the device is to be used for fax or voice, the device must be manually set to the appropriate mode. This is both cumbersome and not scalable. 
CSD is being phased out, and support is limited at best.

If you are currently utilizing a CSD or analog based fax solution, you will want to consider switching to an IP-based solution compatible with the networks of today and tomorrow.