Anyone can send faxes for free over the Internet

Fax servers are a type of computer hooked up to the Internet. These servers permit you to send an e-mail message directly to someone's fax machine the same way you would send other e-mail for free.

TPC (The Phone Company) is a non-profit organization that operates a free e-mail-to-fax service. They rely on volunteers from the U.S., Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, South Korea, New Zealand, Portugal, Sweden, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom, who maintain fax servers in their particular areas, so all phone calls to fax machines are local.

To send a fax to someone, first create the e-mail message. Then send it using the following address, replacing the italicized variables with the actual person's name and phone number, but keeping the punctuation (including the underline) intact:

remote-printer.First_Last@13135551234.iddd.tpc.int

Note that the phone number is one continuous string of numbers, as shown in the example above, and must include the "1" and the area code, even if the fax is just being sent across town. The service automatically sends you an e-mail confirmation, stating either that the fax transmission was successful or that it did not go through because there is no local fax server in that area.

Here's how to send a fax right now:
1) click on Send FAX to send an e-mail/fax message;
2) find the "Send To" window and delete the Firstname, Lastname and faxnumber and replace them with your fax information;
3) fill in your subject and fax message;
4) press send.

If you live in an area covered by the TPC, you can forward e-mail automatically, and at no cost, to your fax machine. If you would like assistance in setting it up, consult the TPC homepage.

This arrangement can be problematic if you often receive long e-mail messages, which, in this case, will be forwarded and will cause you to use up a lot of fax paper (unless you use a computer which stores your faxes on a hard disk). If you have your e-mail forwarded automatically, make sure your friends and business associates know, so that they don't send you extraneous information.