Fax Chronicle

This could be big. Their web site has no data beyond that they are in stealth mode, if they can truly send faxes over VOIP then they have solved a major problem for VOIP providers. Most VOIP providers have to usually deal with replacing fax machines or fax servers where they are providing services over the VOIP network has not worked and they have resorted to using Eamil to Fax services Internet Fax services.

I am going to attempt to get more info. It is difficult to know exactly how their solution works, so hopefully we will get more than the press release I reprinted below. Since there is hardware involved, it may not be revolutionary, but we will wait to see the solution before we pass judgement.

Press elease: Real-Time Fax-Over-Skype Announced by Commetrex Spin-Off – FierceVoIP

In a move designed to please the legions of worldwide Skype users, NetGen Communications, Inc., a spin-off of Commetrex Corp., announced FaxIP for Skype. The product allows a Skype user to send faxes in real-time from fax machine to fax machine anywhere in the world absolutely free.

Tom Ray, NetGens chief marketing officer, emphasized the uniqueness of NetGens first product. “There are so-called virtual-fax or e-fax services that have a Skype file-transfer interface for store-and-forward support of fax-image files. But NetGens product is not store-and-forward and does not use a third-party fax service. Its real-time fax relay across the Skype network. You feed the paper into the sending machine here, place the call, and it comes out at the receiving machine there, all in real time… a legal document, if you will.”

Ray further pointed out that NetGens patent-pending Skype-compatible technology takes advantage of Commetrex industry-leading T.38 fax-relay, Skypes peer-to-peer network, and a special version of the Eutectics IPP2000 RJ-11-to-USB converter see http://www.eutecticsinc.com/products/consumer.html. Don Fowler, Eutectics Vice President of Sales, stressed the quality of the combined solution: “Eutectics enterprise-class devices lead the industry in audio quality, ease of use, ergonomic form, and total functionality. We see a terrific opportunity working with NetGen to provide unique value to the SME and SOHO via our new EoIP Enterprise over IP technology. The IPP2000-FAX is the first in a line of products designed to fulfill this goal.”

NetGen anticipates that the Skype-compatible product will be in retail distribution in the second quarter of this year. Although the target price of the solution has not yet been finalized, it is anticipated that it will be in the $60-$75 range, including the Eutectics IPP2000. Versions for Google Talk, AOLs Total Talk, etc. are planned. Also, releases with enhanced functionality, for example real-time faxing from Microsoft Word, are planned for later in 2007.

About NetGen Communications, Inc.
NetGen Communications, a spin-off of Commetrex® Corporation, a technology innovation leader for the last decade, is bringing Web 2.0 to telecom for the consumer and SME small-medium enterprise. The promise of Web 2.0 is personalized anytime, anyplace, any-device communications. NetGen is jumping on the Skype/Google wave to bring net-gen communications and “service-oriented architectures” to businesses that would not otherwise be able to access these new technologies. NetGens first offering, the FaxIP product suite, provides fax-for-free solutions for Skype, Google, Yahoo and AOL users. FaxIP for Skype will be available in mid-2007 and will provide real-time fax between Skype-and-FaxIP-enabled computers anywhere in the world. Beyond FaxIP, the company will integrate voice and video with Web-based information to deliver functionally complete SME communications systems.