So the real decision isn't about whether your organization should fax. It's about whether you keep doing it on an ageing machine plugged into a copper line that carriers across Canada are retiring.
Fax Is Here to Stay
Canadian regulations never abandoned fax. Medical professionals, legal practices, financial institutions and government bodies keep it in their regulated processes because a fax transmission record has a legal weight that email can't always match. More than 75% of healthcare organizations in North America still rely on fax as their main way to send patient records and referrals.
The problem is the network underneath. Copper lines are nearing the end of their life, carriers keep raising prices and service quality keeps slipping. Any business still running a fax machine on a traditional phone line is living on borrowed time.
Your Cloud Fax Options
Several fax solutions are available, each built for a different set of needs. Wherever your organization sits in its move away from legacy lines, one of them will fit.
Internet Fax
With Internet Fax, documents travel over the internet instead of a phone line, so there's no machine to maintain and no busy signal to fight. Transmissions are fully encrypted, the service is fully PHIPA and HIPAA compliant, and your data stays in Canada, which makes it a natural fit for healthcare, legal, finance and government teams.
Each account covers up to eight users and comes with three ready-made cover page templates. You can handle faxes from the web portal or by email, and because it plugs straight into your Hosted PBX, your fax number, phone numbers and billing are all kept together.
Portal Fax
Portal Fax gives a single user an easy way to fax right from their main portal, with nothing extra to set up. It is designed for light, occasional use.
There are no cover page templates and no fax-to-email forwarding, and usage is capped at 200 pages per month. If your faxing needs are basic, it is a simple, budget-friendly choice.
Physical Fax (HTTPS or Analog)
Not ready to retire your fax machine? A Fax ATA (analog telephone adapter) can be installed on site. It connects directly to the machine you already own and links it to a cloud network, so your equipment and routines carry on exactly as before.
Keep in mind that this route costs more over time than cloud fax: you still pay for hardware upkeep, paper and ink or laser cartridges. It also needs a user account in the portal to work. We suggest Physical Fax as a stepping stone for organizations that can't swap out their machine yet, until they're ready to move fully to Internet Fax.
UC Analog
UC Analog takes the place of traditional copper lines wirelessly, letting you keep your current fax machines and other analog devices working with no disruption. It ties that hardware into a cloud network using MultiPath technology, which sends traffic over LTE and wired Ethernet at the same time, and a built-in battery keeps service going for up to 24 hours if the power fails. There are no monthly page limits, so you can fax as many pages as you need.
Think of a busy medical clinic that faxes dozens of patient referrals every day. Its copper line is being shut off, yet its fax machine is woven into everyday work. UC Analog slots in as a direct replacement and keeps the clinic running with the same equipment and the same process until it's ready to move to Internet Fax completely.
Reasons to Switch Today
- No more lost documents. Internet Fax processes several transmissions at once, so a busy office never misses a fax because the line was tied up.
- Fax from wherever you are. Send and receive on any device, with no need to stand beside a machine or be in a particular office.
- Keep the same number. Your clients, partners and regulators won't notice any change.
- Drop the hardware and line costs. Say goodbye to fax machines, toner, paper and phone line charges.
- One place to manage it all. Your fax number lives next to your phone system in one portal, with a single bill and a single support contact.
And it's about to get easier still. Internet Fax, Portal Fax, Physical Fax and UC Analog are all set to become available through one unified portal, giving you a single login and dashboard for every fax number, transmission and account in your organization.
Keep Faxing, Leave the Copper Behind
For regulated industries in Canada, fax isn't going anywhere. The old infrastructure it has always leaned on is a different story: phone lines are being decommissioned, prices are climbing, and businesses still tied to copper are running short on time.
Internet Fax lets Canadian organizations keep fax in their workflow securely and affordably, without the hardware burden or the compliance risk of a system on its way out. It connects to your current phone system, holds on to your existing fax number and keeps every transmission in line with Canadian privacy standards. To talk through the right fax option for your office, contact RBI Cloud Connect.
Frequently asked questions
Can I keep my existing fax number?
Yes. When you move to Internet Fax your fax number stays the same, so nothing changes for your clients, partners or regulatory contacts.
What if we aren't ready to get rid of our fax machine?
You can keep it. A Fax ATA or UC Analog connects your existing machine to a cloud network, and UC Analog includes battery backup for up to 24 hours and no monthly page limits.
Is Portal Fax enough for my office?
Portal Fax suits a single user with occasional faxing. It has a 200-page monthly limit, no cover page templates and no forwarding to email.
