Internet faxing takes center stage

sers looking to reduce their long-distance and international fax service costs have signed up with service providers in droves. More than 192 million minutes worth of faxes were sent over the Internet last year - a number that is expected to triple by year-end.

As more ISPs jump on the IP fax service bandwagon, it is somewhat surprising to learn which service providers are handling the majority of IP fax time for business users around the country (see graphic).

With large ISPs such as MCI WorldCom's UUNET and PSINet touting their IP fax services, one might imagine that those companies would be at the top of the list. But according to a recent International Data Corp. (IDC)study, UUNET is carrying 8 million minutes of fax traffic per year - only a 4.2% share of the IP fax market, says Peter Davidson, an analyst with IDC, a Framingham, Mass. consulting firm.

And PSINet, one of the first ISPs to roll out an IP fax service, didn't even make IDC's list. For other service providers, IP fax is a complementary addition to their Internet service offerings. AT&T WorldNet announced its IP fax services less than a year ago.

While AT&T introduced the service much later than some of its competitors, its offering now brings in more than $4 million in revenue. That makes AT&T the fourth-largest IP fax service provider even though its service was only operational for half of the year, Davidson says.

One finding that is not surprising is that FaxSav, an IP fax service provider that essentially pioneered the industry, is the market share leader. With big customer clients such as Chevron and Nortel Networks driving traffic, FaxSav is handling 55 million fax minutes annually.