faxes and VOIP

[wagon]

Hello all!

I am considering going VOIP at the workshop because I am sick of being royally $crewed by telephone costs... My only concerns are, however, will the fax and the EFTPOS machine work with a VOIP line? And, how do I best go about setting it up?

Wagon.

[cobiray]

It can be done, but all of the customers who have done it with the fax line have regretted it later. In my experience (Ricoh), all of the faxes have had to be slowed down in order to work over the VOIP. All of them have complained of how long it takes to send or receive a large fax compared to conventional phones. I believe all of them have been Vonage and when calling their help lines they seemed to be unable or unwlling to help with the issue.

However, I have a customer using their WAN with a fax server and that seems to work fine, but they can adjust their bandwidth for the fax, which I have not been able to get Vonage to help out with.

That's my two cents.

[bubblegoose72]

Voip for fax is problematic. For a low volume location, or one that sends short faxes, there may be no problem. I have seen multiple clock signals and weak overall quality of signal when sending to Canon's support center, where they oscilloscope the line. For critical locations we have had a true analog phone line installed.

[cobiray]

Glad I'm not the only one who thinks it's a crap idea.

[fausto1981]

Shoot, I have been telling all my customers that VOIP won't work at ALL!!!

I just tell them that they need an analog line for the machine.

[cobiray]

Our customers who have done it haven't consulted us before they did it. And then they wouldn't go back, so we had to figure it out.

[unisys12]

What about the newer machines Ricoh has that support IPFax? Have you guys had any experience with those? I know the older models do not support IP Faxing, so I can understand the problems everyone has had.

I only have one customer that said they would play around with it. They currently still have an analog line and would probably stay with it since they had been having trouble with their VOIP service. We haven't had any problems with the machine, since install, so I haven't talked with them since. So I am just wondering.

[fausto1981]

IP-Fax Destinations
Depending on the network to which this device is connected or configuration of this device, enter the IP-Fax destination as follows:
SIP
A communication control protocol for Internet telephone that utilizes VoIP (which converts voice information to IP packets) and is equipped with functions such as creating, modifying, and terminating sessions with one or more participants.
Gatekeeper (VoIP gatekeeper)
A gatekeeper manages devices connected to an IP network and converts alias telephone numbers to IPv4 addresses and performs authentication functions. In addition, a gatekeeper governs band (transmission rate assignment) and access control.

When not using a gatekeeper/SIP server

• From IP-Fax to IP-Fax
  Specify the IPv4 address or host name of the receiving device.
  Example: 192.168.1.10 (IPv4 address)
  Example: IPFAX1 (host name)
• From IP-Fax to G3 fax
  Specify the G3 fax telephone number of the receiving device.
  Example: 0312345678

When using a gatekeeper server

• From IP-Fax to IP-Fax
  Specify the alias telephone number of the receiving device.
  Example: 0311119999 (alias telephone number)

• From IP-Fax to G3 fax
  Specify the G3 fax telephone number of the receiving device.
  Example: 0312345678

When using a SIP server

• From IP-Fax to IP-Fax
  Specify the SIP user name of the receiving device.
  Example: ABC (SIP user name)

• From IP-Fax to G3 fax
  Specify the G3 fax telephone number of the receiving device.
  Example: 0312345678

Notes:

• To send to a G3 fax via a gateway connected to a public telephone line, you must specify it's device telephone number of the receiver. For example, if fax number of the receiver is "0312345678", specify "5678". To send from an IP-Fax to G3 fax without using gatekeeper or SIP server, you must register the gateway also.
• When you specify a destination with IP-Fax, depending on network configuration of the receiver, you may need to specify the IPv4 address and port number of the receiving device. For example, if IPv4 address of the receiver is "192.168.1.10" and the port number is "2100", specify "192.168.1.10:2100". Ask the network administrator for details.
• When you specify a host name, depending on network configuration of the receiver, you may need to specify the host name and port number of the receiving device. For example, if host name of the receiver is "IPFAX1"and the port number is "2100", specify "IPFAX1:2100". Ask the network administrator for details.
• An alias telephone number is a number that is registered in the gatekeeper, and is available only in the network to which the gatekeeper is connected.
• Pay attention to the number of telephone number digits set in the gateway/IPv4 address conversion table to avoid transmission error.

got this from the TSC website
https://tscweb.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/...&p_topview=1#1

[nmfaxman]

Ask the VOIP provider if their fax lines are ITU .T38 standard.
My guess is they will have no idea what you are talking about.
Found this on Canon tech support.
Product : All Fax Capable imageRUNNER Models, All Laser Class Series Title : Voice Over IP and Fax Communication. Question :
Will Canon Fax equipment work on a voice over IP circuit, (VoIP) ?

Answer :
Voice over IP, (VoIP), is becoming a very popular communication technique being employed by entities who want to take advantage of their internet connection for use as a communication circuit. Since its inception, it is being used for a wider variety of applications one of them being fax communication. Considering this, many are curious as to whether Canon Fax equipment will function in this type of environment.

Canon fax equipment will work on any circuit that meets the specification of a voice grade line.

That being said, there are special considerations for fax communication over a VoIP circuit. The ITU, (International Telecommunications Union), has established a standard for this type of communication. It is known as the T.38 standard. If you connect your fax in a VoIP circuit and experience difficulty, you may want to make sure the circuit meets the T.38 standard.

For a detailed description of the T.38 standard which governs fax communication on a VoIP circuit, please click the following link.

http://www.voip-info.org/wiki/view/T.38

Hope this helps

[fausto1981]

Cool nmfaxman... nice info...

I havent setup faxing through VOIP because of the bandwith... what I did the other day was internet faxing and it works but there is a lot of requirements

you need access to the customers DNS server and Exchange or whatever SMTP server they use... but it works really good and they save a lot of money...