Why are we still sending FAXES in 2023?
Surprisingly, modern email and fax originated at nearly the same moment in time. SMTP email dates from 1981, Group 3 fax from 1980 So it is not really true to say that email obsoletes fax. From the very beginning they have co-existed in parallel universes.
Why has fax survived? Besides the obvious convenience of fax machines for paper documents, there are good reasons why fax still flourishes:
Privacy: Fax uses a secure network - the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) - while standard email uses the insecure public Internet. Although phone taps are possible, it's not easy to do. Phone lines are run underground, strung high on poles, or locked in telephone closets. It takes an actual physical break-in to wiretap a phone.
Unencrypted email is highly insecure, as it uses the public Internet. Consequently, it’s not generally permitted for medical records or confidential financial information
Encrypted email remains more a potential solution than a practical one for several reasons. Unlike secure web and ssh connections, which can negotiate a secure ad-hoc connection via a key exchange, performing an equivalent negotiation via email requires multiple back and forth messages -- usually impractical. So is public key encryption, at least for most organizations, Schemes which require a trusted third party have not yet gained traction, possibly because we can’t agree on who the third party should be.
For these reasons documents such as the following are well-suited for fax:
Prescriptions
Securities trade confirmations
Real Estate offers, counter offers, and acceptances
Laboratory results
Wire transfer support documents
Legality of electronic documents
U.S. Federal courts have ruled that signed faxes are legally binding. Digitally signed email can also be binding, but the situations where this applies are much narrower.
Faxes of signed offers are considered binding in most jurisdictions, but emails of scanned documents are generally not legally binding.
Faxed documents are considered “originals” for legal purposes. Documents which have been scanned and emailed are only binding if all parties have agreed to that ahead of time.
Proof of delivery
An Answerback from a fax machine or fax server is generally considered to be legal proof of delivery, unless otherwise agreed to ahead of time. But for email, proof of delivery is somewhat problematical. Request for return receipt are usually ignored. Acknowledging emails can be blocked or routed into spam folders.
Conclusion: Fax isn’t going away soon
For several compelling reasons, facsimile will continue to be a core technology for important information, especially enterprise-to-enterprise and enterprise-to-individual. The challenge is to make faxing easy, reliable, secure, and auditable, while doing so at reasonable cost.