From: Kevin Savetz Subject: FAQ: How can I send a fax from the Internet? (v. 0.4) Date: Sun, 19 Jun 1994 15:41:14 -0700 (PDT) Archive-name: internet-services/fax-faq Last-Modified: 1994/6/19 Version: 0.4 FAQ: How can I send a fax from the Internet? version 0.4 - 19 June 1994 Send comments & updates to Kevin Savetz . This document is copyright 1994 by Kevin M. Savetz. All rights reserved. More legal stuff is near the end of this file. This document is brand new and in transition. If you notice that an Internet fax service is missing, or information herein needs updating, please send e-mail to "savetz@rahul.net". *** Table of Contents Can I send a fax from the Internet? TPC.INT Remote Printing <2 area codes removed> Rabbit.rgm Sacramento Fax Service Digital Chicken Swedish University Network InterFax FAXiNET Unigate RadioMail Legal Stuff Where to Find this Document *** Can I send a fax from the Internet? Indeed. There are several services for sending a fax via Internet mail - some are free while others are pay services. At least one service even lets you receive a fax via Internet mail. The e-mail-to-fax services that I know about are discussed below. All the services require that you can send and receive electronic mail to the Internet. *** TPC.INT Remote Printing One fax-from-the-Internet service is the brainchild of Carl Malamud (the creator of Internet Talk Radio) and Marshall Rose. They're doing research on how to integrate special-purpose devices, like facsimile printers, into the fabric of the Internet. It works simply enough - send electronic mail to a special address, and soon after (if your recipient's fax machine is in a covered area), out comes a freshly-minted fax. You can send a fax to multiple fax machines, or even a combination of faxes and traditional e-mail recipients. After the deed is done, you will receive electronic mail telling you if your fax was successfully sent or not. The service is free. You can't send a fax just anywhere with this service. A variety of companies, institutions and citizens linked to the Internet have joined the experiment by linking a computer and fax modem to the 'net. When an organization joins as a remote-fax server, it specifies what areas to which they are willing to send faxes. When you send an e-mail fax message, you (naturally) must include the phone number of the recipient's fax machine. A computer looks at the phone number and decides if any participating fax machines cover the area to which you want to send a fax. If so, your message is routed to the appropriate machine for faxation. Otherwise, you will receive electronic mail informing you the fax couldn't be delivered. News of recent changes/additions to this service: *6/94: Relay cell servicing the +1-416 and +1-905 area codes has been taken out of service. To send a fax by e-mail, send a message To: remote-printer.@phonenumber.iddd.tpc.int Where contains information for the cover page. In , "/" is turned into line breaks and "_" is turned into spaces. For example, the address: To: remote-printer.Arlo_Cats/Room_123@12025551212.iddd.tpc.int Would send a fax to +1-202-555-1212 with the cover page: Please deliver this facsimile to: Arlo Cats Room 123 Note: There's another way to address faxes which seems to work more reliable sometimes. Note that the phone number is backwards and the numbers are separated by periods. To: remote-printer.Arlo_Cats/Room_123@2.1.2.1.5.5.5.2.0.2.1.tpc.int The following addresses can be used to obtain more information: tpc-coverage@town.hall.org - current fax coverage (automated reply) tpc-faq@town.hall.org - Frequently Asked Questions (automated reply) tpc-rp-request@aarnet.edu.au - discussion list maintainer (human) *** Rabbit.rgm Sacramento Fax Service This service is a feature of a Sacramento, California-based bulletin board system. You can use it to send faxes to areas that are a local call from Sacramento, including the California State Legislature. This service is run as a hobby and is connected to the Internet by UUCP, so it can take from 12 to 24 hours for your fax to be delivered or for the help files to reach you. It does not support multiple addressing: only one fax number per message. It also does not send a cover page, so be sure to start direct you fax to someone's attention. It will truncate faxes longer than two pages - 132 lines. To use this fax service, send e-mail To: faxline@rabbit.rgm.com Subject: local (7 digit) phone number, without area code Body: For complete usage information, send e-mail To: faxline@rabbit.rgm.com Subject: 052 For a list of some legislators fax numbers in the Sacramento area, send e-mail: To: request@rabbit.rgm.com Subject: 050 *** Digital Chicken Digital Chicken is - or was - a service that let users send faxes to Canadian government and citizens. According to the management of Digital Chicken, the service will be shut down in the near future: there is a branch of the TPC.INT remote faxing service (explained above) that covers Canada. The management feels there is no need for two fax services covering the area. For more information , e-mail: "riley@chicken.planet.org". *** Swedish University Network {Disclaimer: I know very little about this fax service. I haven't tried it myself, although I have been told that this service "works very well." This is all I know - please don't ask me for more information. If you know more details please tell me. Thanks to Fredrik Ekman for the info!} The Swedish University Computer Network (sunet) has a national fax service that can be used by anyone at no cost. Users in Sweden can use it to send faxes all over the world but users outside Sweden can only use it for telephone numbers within Sweden. To send a fax to Arlo Cats +46-87654321 (that's international notation for Sweden, phone number 08/765 43 21) send e-mail to: Arlo_Cats@F087654321.fax.sunet.se Note that you will always have to preface the phone number with the letter "F" for "fax". For more information, e-mail "faxmaster@fax.sunet.se". *** InterFax InterFax allows you to send faxes via e-mail within the US or internationally. InterFax is a fee-based service (billed to your credit card) but, unlike the services listed above, InterFax lets you send faxes anywhere, not just select locations. As of this writing, InterFax costs $5 per month, which includes the first five fax pages. Additional pages cost 50 cents each. There is a one-time sign-up charge of $25. For further information, send e-mail to faxmaster@pan.com, or contact InterFax at PO Box 162, Skippack, PA 19474 USA. (215) 584-0300. Fax: (215)584-1038. *** FAXiNET Another fax-by-mail service is FAXiNET, which lets you send any text (ASCII) or PostScript documents to fax machines worldwide. FAXiNET can send faxes to more than 50 countries and plans to add more. The company can also receive faxes for you, which will be delivered to you via electronic mail. Accounts for individuals cost 75 cents per page, plus a one-time $20 activation fee. Additional services, including adding your custom logo and signature to your faxes, are available at extra cost. Corporate accounts are also available. More information is available from AnyWare Associates, FAXiNET, 32 Woodland Road, Boston, MA 02130. (617) 522-8102. E-mail: sales@awa.com *** Unigate Unigate is another pay-for-use service that allows you to send faxes to Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. It also allows you to receive faxes as electronic mail. Unigate is a commercial service that also handles "snail mail." Most of us probably don't need to fax Russia, but if you should need to, Unigate is probably much less expensive than however you're doing it now: fax service from USA to Russia (or back) is $1.59 per page: For fax service USA to Russia: $1.59 / page fax service from Russia to Canada: 1.79 / page fax service from Russia to Europe: 2.59 / page For postal-mail service USA-Russia: $1.00 / page snail-mail service from Russia to Canada: 1.50 / page snail-mail service from Russia to Europe: 1.79 / page For more information, e-mail "yuri@atmos.washington.edu". *** RadioMail This e-mail-to-fax service lets you send faxes to just about any country you can name. Prices vary accordingly - it's much less expensive to send a fax to a "well-connected" country (like Canada and Sweden) than less-connected places like Laos and Solomon Island. For instructions, send e-mail to "RadioHelp@radiomail.net". All fax messages are charged on a per-page basis. The cover-sheet is sent free of charge. All messages are subject to a one-page minimum charge. Domestic faxes are billed at the rate of 99 cents per page. The rate for international faxes depends on the destination country: $0.99, $1.99, $3.99 or $4.99 per page. RadioMail stands out because the service doesn't require that you have access to a telephone line - it can work using a wireless modem. To become a RadioMail subscriber, users need a wireless modem and the special RadioMail software. According to the company, "RadioMail supports DOS computers, Macintosh computers and HP Palmtops in addition to providing one-way communications on the Newton. The RadioMail software is built in to devices that will be available this summer, including the Envoy from Motorola." ***Legal Stuff This document is copyright 1994 by Kevin M. Savetz. All rights reserved. Permission for the following types of distribution is hereby granted, provided that this file is distributed intact, including the above copyright notice: - non-commercial distribution - posting to Internet archives, BBSs and online services - distribution by teachers, librarians and Internet trainers - inclusion on software/FAQ/Internet-oriented CD-ROMS Permission for commercial distribution may be obtained from the editor. SHARE THIS INFORMATION FREELY AND IN GOOD FAITH. DO NOT DISTRIBUTE MODIFIED VERSIONS OF THIS DOCUMENT. This document is new and in transition. If you notice that something important is missing, or information herein needs updating, please contact the editor. The editor and contributors have developed this FAQ as a service to the Internet community. We hope you find it useful. This FAQ is purely a volunteer effort. Although every effort has been made to insure that answers are as accurate as possible, no guarantee is implied or intended. While the editor tries to keep this document current, remember that the Internet and its services are constantly changing, so don't be surprised if you happen across statements which are obsolete. If you do, please send corrections to the editor. Corrections, questions, and comments should be sent to Kevin Savetz at "savetz@rahul.net" (Internet) or "savetz" (America Online.) Please indicate what version of this document to which you are referring. *** Where to Find this Document This file is posted twice monthly (on the 5th and 19th of each month) to the Usenet newsgroups alt.internet.services, alt.online-service, alt.bbs.internet, alt.answers and news.answers. You can receive each new edition of this document automatically via electronic mail, if you are so inclined. This is a low-volume list, with updates every few weeks. Note that the following address is my personal e-mail box, filtered by a very simple mail filter. Your request must go in the SUBJECT line EXACTALLY as shown below. Anything else will find its way into my e-mail box rather than to the subscription program. To subscribe, send e-mail: To: savetz@rahul.net Subject: subscribe fax-faq Body: You can also receive it once via electronic mail (without subscribing to automatic updates). Again, the request must be entered in the SUBJECT line EXACTALLY as shown below: To: savetz@rahul.net Subject: send fax-faq Body: You can receive it via anonymous FTP: rtfm.mit.edu:/pub/usenet/news.answers/internet-services/fax-faq ftp.eff.org:/pub/Net_info/Technical/net-fax.faq You can get it using Gopher: gopher://gopher.eff.org/11/Net_info/Technical, net-fax.faq ###end of document### .