Internet Fax Dialer

The Internet Fax Dialer (IFD) from Bangalore-based Sparr Electronics hooks up
to your existing fax machine, and lets you send, receive, and forward faxes over
the Internet, either to other fax machines or an e-mail address. The device
looks like a modem and sits between your telephone and fax machine. Any fax you
send can be routed to go through the IFD, which will connect to the Internet and
send it across.

The IFD sends faxes to e-mail addresses in the form of TIF attachments. Being
e-mail, it can be sent over the Internet to anyone across the world at a lower
cost. Since you’re using your fax machine and not a computer, you have to
punch in the ASCII values of the e-mail ID on your machine. An ASCII code
listing comes with the IFD to help you with this. The IFD also has an address
book that can store up to 100 e-mail IDs and fax numbers. It assigns digits from
0 to 99 to each entry, which you can use for speed dialing, or for sending one
fax to multiple addresses. You can print out these addresses and other settings
from the fax machine.

If you’re sending a fax to another fax machine, you need to have an account
with a local Fax Service Provider (FSP) in your area, for instance Satyam. The
FSP will route your fax to the destination fax machine through the Internet. The
cost per fax is about Rs10 for India and Rs 25-30 internationally. You could
open an account with an FSP through Sparr at a registration fee of about Rs
1,000.

You can also send faxes from one IFD to another without going through an FSP.
The IFD can be configured either through the fax machine or a computer. It comes
with a cable to connect to a computer. The IFD comes in two versions, one with a
built-in 33.6 kbps modem costing Rs 12,500 and another without one priced at Rs
8,000. The latter is a good choice if you already have a Class 2 Fax modem.

Source: Sparr Electronics, Bangalore, Tel: 80-3310836 Fax: 3348346 E-mail: ifdsales@sparrl.com
Website: www.sparrl.com.

Vini Goel in Bangalore