Certain businesses today choose to support walk-up faxing using legacy phone lines. However, they have another option. With the help of an ATA and an IP fax line, an existing fax machine or multi-function device can be used to fax over the internet. There are several reasons a person may choose to retain the legacy phone lines for employees, but the most common reason given is they wish to preserve the status quo for employees who prefer using a traditional fax machine.
The Benefits of Converting a Legacy Device to IP Fax
A business that converts their legacy device to IP fax with the help of an ATA finds their fax costs decrease. IP technology ensures this is the case. When they continue to use legacy fax lines, they pay per-minute long-distance rates in many cases. These costs quickly add up. Faxing with the help of IP technology brings these costs down.
Conventional fax technology requires documents to be printed first, so a hard copy can be sent through the fax machine. The cost of printing the documents needs to be added into the equation when determining which option is better. In addition, a company must worry about managing and securing these hard copies. They eliminate these concerns when using IP Fax.
A company won’t need to spend significant amounts of time training employees to use IP fax technology when they keep the legacy machines in place. The employees get the same fax experience while benefiting from the IP fax technology. Many people choose to use the mFax Print to Fax driver for this purpose. How do they do so?
Analog Telephone Adaptors
Analog telephone adaptors or ATAs allow a person to connect their standard telephone to a computer or network. Once the process is complete, they can make calls over the internet. This option is less expensive than purchasing a specialized VoIP phone that directly connects to the computer through the Universal Serial Bus.
People often believe VoIP is more expensive than traditional phone service. While it can be, this depends on several factors. For example, the equipment costs and the rate charged by a provider play a large role in how much one pays for the VoIP service. However, some services charge no fees or minimal fees for long-distance calls.
Choosing an ATA
Regardless of which ATA is purchased, the device will establish a physical connection between a computer or network device and a conventional phone. Certain devices connect directly to the VoIP server through analog-to-digital conversion. Others require software. A simple ATA comes with RJ-11 jacks where the telephone or fax plugs into the device and a USB connector for the computer or mobile device connection. With this type of device, the software is typically needed to serve as an intermediary between the phone and VoIP service. It digitizes the voice data to allow it to be sent over the internet.
An ATA used in a business often comes with several phone jacks and an RJ-45 connection. The RJ-45 connection allows the device to be used with a 10/100BaseT Ethernet hub or switch to establish a connection with the local network. This device digitizes voice data using protocols to eliminate the need for a softphone.
Consider making the switch to IP fax. It isn’t as difficult as many people imagine. Thanks to the options offered today, every person should find a fax setup that meets their needs in every way.
