1) Fax modems can be less than 100% reliable as your PC must always be switched on (with the necessary software running) to receive faxes.

2) Once the fax is delivered to your fax modem you have to be in your office to access it. 

3) Your phone line may be busy (while you are on the phone or internet) and unable to receive faxes.

4) A answering machine may compete with incoming faxes.

5) If you run a dedicated fax line, it is costing you about R 80.00 per month in Telkom line rentals.

Question: Do I have to pay to receive faxes via email?

No, your monthly subscription fee covers all costs.

You can receive any amount of faxes at no extra charge.

No hidden costs, no additional charges.

Question: Do I have to install any software on my PC to view the faxes?

No, faxes arrive as .tif graphic file attachments in your email inbox.  All version of Windows understand this format, or, if you prefer, you can download the excellent free graphics file viewer Irfanview.

Question: Can I receive faxes from any number?

Yes - from any South African telephone number.

Your personal 086 number is handled by a specialized exchange that cannot translate calls from international numbers to your local 086 number.  This is true for any 086 number supplied by Telkom.

This limitation is not too bad since it is a far better idea to send email rather than transatlantic faxes.  For this reason many international companies with a local presence in South Africa use a fax to email number so that their local clients pay local call charges to send them faxes.

Question: Does my fax number belong to me exclusively?

Once your 086 number is allocated it belongs to you and you alone.

Question: How many faxes can I receive?

You can receive any number of faxes.

If you run a marketing campaign for example, you can have hundreds of people send faxes to you. The only limit is the size of your email inbox.

Question: Is my fax number ever busy?

No, it is never busy.

Several people can send faxes to your 086 number at the same time and all of them will get through. You are quite safe when you get a massive response to your latest marketing campaign. :-)

Question: Can I receive and read my faxes while I am away from the office?

Yes, you can read your faxes from anywhere as long as you have an internet connection to your email. (You can be in London at a internet cafe and login to the web mail service and download your faxes.)

Question: How long does it take to download a fax from my email inbox?

A typical fax page is about 15Kb in size and takes about 4 seconds to download via normal dial-up modem.

Question: Does my faxes stay private?

Yes, no-one can see your faxes as it is delivered directly to your email inbox.

Your faxes stay 100% private.

Question: Can I distribute or forward faxes to other people?

Indeed you can. The fax arrives as a normal email so you can forward it to your admin staff or colleagues. You can even set up email inbox rules to automatically forward faxes to your assistant - or print them.

Question: Can I have my current Telkom fax line removed?

Yes you can - if you use it exclusively to receive faxes. (And save on the line rental of about R80.00 per month...)

Question: I have more than one job - can I receive faxes while at another client?

Yes you can - you can receive faxes anywhere provided you can access your email.  Private and confidential, so you will not be embarrassed by faxes from client A arriving while you are working at client B.

Question: How much does it cost?

The fax to email service is a bargain at R 29.95 per monthly debit order (ex vat) per fax to email telephone number, and there is no cost for receiving faxes.

(Pricing information for sending faxes to an 086 number, please refer to Telkom)

Question: More?

If you have more questions, please contact us - we will be happy to assist. :-)