How does faxing over the Internet work?

A man using a fax machine. — Faxing over the internet is better than using a fax machine. Ghislain & Marie David de Lossy / Getty Images

Internet faxing uses the same principles as facsimile transmission, but it uses a Web interface instead of a fax machine. It can be a flexible, inexpensive option for transmitting documents.

Internet fax services usually assign a fax number to each person who signs up for the service. People can send faxes to this number, and customers can send faxes via e-mail without using a fax machine. Here's how it works.

To send a fax through an Internet fax service:

The sender attaches a document to an e-mail message. The document can be a scan of a paper document, or it can be created in a program like Microsoft Word.
The sender addresses the message to the recipient's fax number, followed by the name of the faxing service (for example: 18005551234@emailfaxes.com).
The service translates the attachment so that a fax machine can read it.
The service sends the data across the phone line.
The recipient's fax machine decodes the data and prints the fax.

To receive a document from a traditional fax machine through an Internet fax service:

The sender dials the fax number that the service has assigned to the recipient.
The fax machine translates the data and transmits it over the phone line.
The service receives the data, translates it into an image file and sends the image to the recipient's e-mail address.
The recipient opens the em-ail message and the attachment and views the file.

To learn more about the Internet and fax machines, follow these links: