Ofcom UK gives the kiss of death to FAX

The UK communications regulator, Ofcom, has officially proposed to remove the requirement for telecom operators to provide FAX (facsimile) services under their legally-binding Universal Service Obligation (USO), which only applies to BT and KCOM.

The related USO was originally set out in 2003 when fax machines were much more prevalent, and email and instant messaging were less ubiquitous. On top of that, the move to full-fibre (FTTP) broadband lines and all-IP (Internet Protocol) based phone services (VoIP ) – whether via copper or fibre lines – will hamper how the old analogue FAX system operates.

FAX can sometimes still to made to work, but the timing and synchronisation that it relies on for the duration of the transmission can no longer be guaranteed to work in the same way. Suffice it to say that FAX can no longer be supported, and parliament has already removed such services from the USO legislation following an earlier consultation by Ofcom.

Article source: www.ispreview.co.uk