Facsimile Machines

The fax uses telephone lines to transmit not only text, pictures and maps, but also serves as a base for information access at all times. The variety of fax services available includes the 'Information Fax' which can send out information as it is needed, the 'F-Net' which can send up to 1,000 different copies of the same transmission at once, and the 'G4' fax for high speed and sharp image quality.
Information Fax
Simply dial a number for all kinds of information from maps of tourist destinations, ski area conditions and weather forecasts to wedding facilities, winning lottery numbers, horoscopes or the time of the last train home. Access may be either through normal phone lines, or F-net lines.

F-Net (Facsimile Transmission Network)
The F-Net is for faxes only, and allows up to 1000 transmissions to be sent from a single command operation (broadcast transmission), and once the command is completed the fax can handle other sending and receiving operations even while the receiver's fax is busy receiving. Another feature is sending without sounding the fax ring tone to avoid disturbance when sending messages at night (Ringless Automatic Receiving). Charges are in two stages for distances under or over 100km, making this an attractive service for long-distance transmission.

Classification F-Net rates,
per page 		Normal telephone rates,
per minute
DayNightDayNightLate Night
Under 100km
(Example: Kawasaki to Choshi, Numazu)		 40yen25yen30yen20yen20yen
Over 100km
(Example: Tokyo to Nagoya, Osaka)		 50yen30yen60yen40yen30yen
(Rates as of January 31, 1995)

Advances in Fax Technology
Fax equipment has kept pace with advances in technology, with the development of the G1 fax to the G4 fax. Currently, most communications use the G3 or G4 fax standards. The G3 level uses digital signals in the reading device, but the G4 fax is equipped for digital transmission lines, providing improved speed and sharper images.
*Time required to transmit one standard A4 page: G3 fax: approximately 1 minute G4 fax: several seconds


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