What is a cloud PBX, and how is it different from a desk phone setup?
A plain-language explainer on cloud phone systems for anyone weighing up a move off traditional lines.
May 28, 2026
Is the fax dead?
Fax was built for analog lines, and Europe has moved to all-IP. Here is why fax over VoIP is unreliable, and what to use instead.
When fax took off 40 years ago, it fit analog phone networks perfectly. It was the quickest (and safest) way to get a document to a remote office. But telephony has moved on. PSTN and ISDN, the classic analog technologies, are being switched off across Europe, and the all-IP migration is essentially complete.
Why fax and VoIP do not get along
Fax was never designed for IP networks. It uses the analog signal differently from voice, and VoIP is optimised for voice, not for fax signalling. That makes fax over VoIP unreliable, and it will not improve. Running a fax machine in a VoIP environment is still possible, but as the Luxembourg regulator puts it (Règlement ILR, 9 August 2017), there is no guarantee of end-to-end interoperability. No provider can confirm, end to end, that a fax arrived in full.
In practice that means:
A page or two can go missing, or the call can drop mid-transmission.
A short 5-page fax is more likely to complete than a 10-page one.
A daily fax to the same number can work one day and fail the next.
Fax machines on modern networks can no longer be reliably supported.
Providers have no legal duty to make fax work over VoIP.
Major operators across the region (POST in Luxembourg, Proximus in Belgium, Swisscom in Switzerland) now say the same in their terms: they cannot guarantee fax over SIP/VoIP. At Voxbi we are upfront about it too. We do not guarantee fax interoperability, though our support team will always do its best to help if you hit problems.
A Europe-wide shift
Luxembourg's neighbours moved to all-IP years ago:
Germany: Deutsche Telekom stopped selling ISDN and PSTN lines in 2017.
France: Orange stopped supplying ISDN and PSTN lines in 2017, with full transition planned by 2023.
Belgium: Proximus stopped supplying ISDN and PSTN lines in 2017 where alternatives existed.
UK: BT set 2025 for full migration to IP.
The direction is clear, which is why moving off fax is the safe call.
What to use instead
For most documents, email a PDF. It is simpler, quicker, and easier to track. E-signatures have been legally recognised in Luxembourg since 2000 (the Law on E-commerce), so a signed PDF carries legal weight.
So, is fax dead? Not quite, but the end is near. If you are planning your move off analog lines, talk to the Voxbi team and we will help you do it cleanly.
