Fax over VOIP?

[Jonzjob]

Can anyone tell me if it is possible to send a fax from our laptop over the VOIP connection? Our VOIP phone sits directly behind the laptop and would be simplicity itself to unplug the phone and connect into the laptop.

[tel]

Hi Jonzjob,

Having googled your question I came up with the answer below.

 

Q. Do fax machines work on a VoIP connection?

A. Yes, although you will have to use an ATA (analogue terminal adapter) which connects the fax machine to an ethernet connection.

Such as: http://www.europc.co.uk/pages/ProductPage.aspx?PID=53360&CAWELAID=112297197

 

Hope it helps

 

[Jonzjob]

An ATA should not be needed as it is the laptop that will be used and the VOIP phone is plugged straight into our livebox with an RJ11 plug at each end of the cable. It will plug straight into the modem RJ11 socket on the laptop. I hope!!

Ta for the gen though. It was the 'will it work' that I was after..

[Hagar]

[quote user="Jonzjob"]

Ta for the gen though. It was the 'will it work' that I was after..

[/quote]

The simplest answer is it will not work. The codec used in VOIP ( i.e the software that codes and decodes voice into digital signals for transmission over the internet) are optimised for voice not for fax which uses different frequencies.

That said I have seen instances when it does work. But these are isolated instances and it certainly could not be relied upon. You may get it to work once but not a second time.

There are many outfits offering "fax over the internet" services - would not these suit your needs better.?

rgds

hagar