FAX through Obi202
TimDan:
The Obi202 lists as a feature "T.38 Real Time Fax over IP". Just what does that mean?
Do the FAX terminals at both the source and destination have to speak T.38?
Or can a common FAX machine be plugged into the phone line of the Obi202 as if to the telephone network?
Does the FAX machine have to be set to 9,600 baud and its ECM turned OFF, etc.?
Could anyone here who has done any actual FAXing through the Obi202 share their experiences?
*TimDan*
Stewart:
Neither fax machine needs any special capability and should not require any special settings.
However, to benefit from T.38, the service provider must support it. At the present time, Google Voice does not. Callcentric does. I found this list, but do not know whether it is dependable: http://www.voip-info.org/wiki/view/VOIP+Service+Providers+T.38
carl:
The above mentioned list reports Flowroute but their web site does not mention that. Callcentric supports faxing, but they have a disclaimer there ( for a good reason ) everybody should read. I dumped my fax machine almost 3 years ago . Scanning and e-mail do a much better job.
TimDan:
Quote from: Stewart on April 29, 2012, 12:47:59 pm
Neither fax machine needs any special capability and should not require any special settings.
I've come across this about the T.38 protocol: http://www.soft-switch.org/t38/index.html
It indicates that the end points of the T.38 communication should be capable of T.38 - either as terminals (e.g. T.38 ATAs with analog FAX machines attached) or as T.38 gateways between the IP world and the PSTN. It seems then, that the ATA in the Obi202 speaks T.38 with the service provider's T.38 gateway at the destination local carrier where the data packets transition from the Internet to the PSTN. Since that transition point can be on the other side of the world, the VoIP service provider may have little control of whether T.38 can be used for FAXes to, say, China or Pakistan. Is that right?
Quote
However, to benefit from T.38, the service provider must support it. At the present time, Google Voice does not. Callcentric does....
CallCentric says:
"Technically we support fax using either the T.38 protocol or transparently with G.711. However, both largely depend on the reliability/stability of your internet connection. An internet connection with regular packet loss, high latency (ping) to our servers, and/or jitter (large variations in the latency) will cause problems for faxing. While we do support it, and it does work - we can't tell you how reliable it will be on your internet connection without you actually trying it."
and:
"And finally the major factor which may determine your experience with faxing will depend on where you are sending the fax. Sometimes some carriers we purchase our termination through will not have networks that are compatible or sufficient for faxing."
This makes FAX-over-IP, even using T.38, an iffy process, and maybe easy within the U.S. but not so reliable overseas. Has anyone here yet had any experience with Obihai's T.38 FAXing?
*TimDan*
TimDan:
Quote from: carl on April 29, 2012, 03:35:52 pm
[.....] I dumped my fax machine almost 3 years ago . Scanning and e-mail do a much better job.
I recently FAXed a PDF(!) directly from my PC through the PC's FAX/Phone modem. It was the only way to FAX a payment receipt that was on colored paper to my insurance company, since my FAX/copier/printer couldn't handle the colored background and my scanner could. But many industries still require documents via snail mail or FAX, specifically prohibiting email. Attorneys and doctors typically do this for security purposes, and my architect neighbor says that many of his overseas clients will accept only FAXes. FAXing is still here and alive.
*TimDan*
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