Facsimile rapidly attracted attention from general business as a means of business communications when the public network was opened up in 1972 (Showa 47). Later, the facsimile communications network (F-Net) was started in September 1981 (Showa 56) and the facsimile became an essential tool of the business world. F-Net worked by storing data (documents) and provided a wide range of services such as "broadcast communications" and "facsimile boxes". As the charge was based on the number of pages regardless of distance, the communication charges became cheaper relative to the telephone the greater the distance.

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