Faxing solutions

[Hans Fugal]

Gabriel Gunderson wrote:
> After installing Asterisk with PRI lines we are looking to get rid of
> our analog lines.  We *were* going to keep 1 or 2 for faxing but it
> would be nice to get rid of them all (although I really, really like
> HylaFAX).  I've looked at lots of options to FAX with Asterisk but the
> cost for an additional T1 card and channel bank is prohibitive.  Then it
> occurred to me - outsource it.  It's *so* unlike me to consider
> outsourcing anything, but this sounds like it could be just what we
> need.

Sorry for th ignorance - haven't finished reading my asterisk book yet - 
but does fax not work over PRI? I know people say "don't do that" about 
fax over VOIP (although I've heard you can get it working I wouldn't try 
it in a production system), is PRI in the same boat?

> FAX is *very* important to our business.  I'm hoping that your input
> will help me find a reliable service.  So, I'm asking, have any of you
> had good experiences with a FAX service and could you recommend them?
> Are they web based?  Email based?  Reliable?  Can they use our existing
> numbers?  Do they require client software that only runs on Windows?

I think there _should_ be such a service that works well. I looked for 
one for my minimal needs and saw lots of people faxing from email or a 
client program or whatever, but I have no idea how much volume they can 
handle. Can they use your existing numbers? That would be a trick but 
you'd think it could be possible.

I say such a thing should exist because it would not be hard to 
implement with enough analog lines and hylafax.

On a similar vein, I can no longer send faxes from my computer because I 
don't have an anlog line anymore. But I only send a fax once every other 
month or so. Does anyone know of a service that I can send/receive faxes 
from that has a pay-as-you-go approach so I don't sink $10/month for one 
fax every two months?