ARTICLE
10 November 2022

Could This Be The End Of The Fax Machine?

MC
Marks & Clerk

Contributor

Marks & Clerk is one of the UK’s foremost firms of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys. Our attorneys and solicitors are wired directly into the UK’s leading business and innovation economies. Alongside this we have offices in 9 international locations covering the EU, Canada and Asia, meaning we offer clients the best possible service locally, nationally and internationally.
Ofcom, the telecommunications regulator in the UK, has announced a consultation which could lead to telecoms providers no longer being obliged to provide fax services.
United Kingdom Media, Telecoms, IT, Entertainment

Ofcom, the telecommunications regulator in the UK, has announced a consultation which could lead to telecoms providers no longer being obliged to provide fax services.

With the ubiquity of data based telecoms provision, such as over Internet Protocol (IP) technology, fax services do not operate in the same way as they were intended. Additionally, users have long migrated away from fax transmission, towards email and online file sharing.

COVID has further accelerated this shift, with more and more people working at home, entirely online, and in a paperless environment. In this context, fax has a limited function.

Increasingly, legal and financial transactions can be conducted using electronic signatures and certification, reducing the need for transmission of images of original documents signed in pen and ink.

While this change will only have direct effect on the UK, similar moves are afoot in other countries, including even Japan, where the fax machine has remained popular for business and government communications.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

Mondaq uses cookies on this website. By using our website you agree to our use of cookies as set out in our Privacy Policy.

Learn More