FAX-OVER-IP (FoIP) TASK GROUP

FoIP Task Group Charter

The proposed charter of the SIP Forum FoIP task group is to investigate ongoing issues with the deployment of fax services, specifically ITU T.38, in SIP networks. SIP networks cannot adequately replace analog PSTN in enterprises unless essential services such as FAX are accommodated.

The use of ITU T.37 email based store and forward has not been successful due to the specific legal status fax enjoys in law and that fax communications has 3rd party confirmation of transmission and/or delivery in carrier billing records (non repudiation). Classic FAX (T.30) over G.711 has not proved to be reliable and SIP communications , in the future, may use other codecs that have been proven to break T.30 such as G.729 and other high compression codecs like SPEEDEX etc.

The SIP Forum FoIP task group is chartered to accomplish the following tasks:

1. Fully document what the current issues are surrounding ITU T.38 in SIP networks.
a. What interoperability testing procedures currently exist.
b. What are the common factors in T.38 failure such as page length or lack of ECM support in carrier gateways and ATA’s.
c. Network packet loss considerations.

2. Determine what solutions are currently available to address the problem.

3. Determine if the problem can be solved within the scope of existing IETF SIP and ITU T.38 Recommendations.

4. If the problems can be solved using existing standards by tightening requirements, document the procedures vendors and carriers need to implement in an appropriate SIP Forum Technical Recommendation.

5. If, in the judgment of the SIP Forum FoIP WG, existing IETF and or ITU standards need to be modified, develop a strongly worded recommendation to the appropriate Standards Development Organization (SDO) on what the SIP Forum FoIP WG has discovered and recommend appropriate action by the SDO to remedy the issue.

Participation in the Task Group

The board of directors of the SIP Forum has appointed Neil Weldon, Dialogic Corporation, as chair for this task group to coordinate the creation of the various activities of the group. The various activities are intended to be open to all members—full, academic and participant—as determined by the Task Groups and the Working Group Chair.

The Task Group is currently meeting via teleconference on a weekly basis. The group has completed a comprehensive Problem Statement that describes the various issues that are currently impacting the reliability of Fax-over-IP transmission. This document can be found in the FoIP Task Group document repository HERE.

Operations

The FoIP Task Group will establish various activities as required to support its activities. The specific meeting and operational schedule for each activity will be established by the chair.

Links to Current and Past FoIP Task Group Activities and Documents

Fax-over-IP Interoperability Workshop Overview

Fax-over-IP Interoperability Task Group Document Repository, including Meeting Minutes, version 1.0 of the official task group Problem Statement, and presentations submitted for the founding Fax-over-IP Interoperability Workshop.