Fax over IP (FoIP) sends and receives faxes through an Internet connection, eliminating the need for costly modems, analog phone lines, and analog telephone adapters (ATA). In a typical Voice over IP (VoIP) installation, the ATA detects an incoming fax signal and converts the analog tones into the T.38 protocol packets read by an IP network. The Lexmark FoIP application uses fax data that is already formatted into the T.38 standard protocol, enabling a multifunction printer (MFP) to send this data directly to an IP private branch exchange (PBX) through a single network connection. Combining the real-time T.38 protocol with either SIP or H.323 (the most common VoIP protocols) provides fast and reliable FoIP performance within a VoIP environment.
With Fax over IP, faxing documents works just like a regular analog fax due to the seamless integration within Lexmark's fax system architecture. Any differences in fax functionality are designed to be transparent to the user and system, ensuring that fax data will be handled and processed in the same manner regardless of its source. This includes sending and receiving faxes, or fax forwarding to FTP, LDSS, File Share, and eSF Apps. The only exception is that the familiar fax sounds are not heard through an internal speaker because T.3n8 transmits only network packets that do not contain analog audio information.