Subject: IPP ietf-fax charter

From: Raymond Lutz <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 13 Nov 1996 11:07:26 -0800

Since the ipp group may not be aware of the content of the charter of the
ietf-fax group, I am submitting it to this list. I have some comments that
I will submit separately.

-Raymond

                            INTERNET FAX (FAX)

CHARTER

CHAIR(S):

APPLICATIONS AREA DIRECTOR(S)
     Keith Moore <[email-masked]>
     [email-masked]

AREA ADVISOR

MAILING LISTS:
     General Discussion: [email-masked]
     To Subscribe:       [email-masked]
     In Body:            subscribe
     Archive:            http://www.imc.org/ietf-fax/

DESCRIPTION OF WORKING GROUP:
          Facsimile (fax) serves as a reliable, inexpensive global
     communications service.  As the Internet becomes pervasive,
     integrating fax and Internet services is appealing in terms of cost-
     savings and opportunities for functional enhancements.  This working
     group will pursue an initial round of review and specification for
     enabling standardized fax over the Internet.  In the interest of
     making progress quickly, an email-based service will be the first
     transport mechanism pursued, since it requires the least additional
     technical effort.
          Facsimile/Internet integration can be considered in terms of
     three user service models, in order of increasing technical
     difficulty:
          …              Messaging, e.g., email & high latency
          …              Session-based, for observed delivery, with or without
               capabilities negotiation
…         Real-time, for telephone replacement and transparent to existing
fax machines
          For interconnecting fax services over the dialup telephone
     network and carriage of fax data over the Internet, two types of
     translations devices are required:
          …    Internet/Dialup Fax gateway, moving data from the Internet
to classic
            or Internet-aware dialup fax services
…    Dialup/Internet Fax gateway, moving data from classic or Internet-
aware dialup fax services to the Internet
     This working group shall include consideration of requirements for
     these gateways, but will defer specifying their details.
          The Fax working group will focus on an initial set of activities
     to create a core fax-related service over the Internet, using existing
     protocols and specifications where possible.  Its activities will
     include development of standardized terminology, standardized data
     representation, and standardized data transport methods, attending to
     addressing and reliability concerns.  Common terminology will ensure a
     shared framework for participants from the Internet and the facsimile
     worlds.  The second task will review existing facsimile-related
     Internet data specifications and accept, modify, replace or augment
     them, with particular attention to their encapsulation, such as via
     MIME.  The third task will provide for carriage of facsimile data via
     Internet mail  The fourth task will detail the operational constraints
     for achieving session-oriented use of messaging, tailored for timely
     delivery with the sender waiting for delivery confirmation.
          The dominant use of fax today is during a real-time connection
     over the dialup telephone network; hence an Internet-based direct
     replacement service would save significant long-distance telephone
     charges.  However it is believed that this service is the most
     difficult task to produce over the Internet, technically, whereas an
     email-based service is likely to be the simplest.
          The working group shall coordinate its activities with other
     facsimile-related standards bodies.

GOALS AND MILESTONES:
     Feb, 97   Submit terminology document and new or modified data
               specifications onto standards track
     Mar, 97   Submit email specification onto standards track
     Jul, 97   Submit interactive-time fax-over-Internet specification onto
               standards track

/***********************************************************************
** Raymond Lutz                             Voice: 619-447-3246
** Director R & D, Cognisys, Inc.           Fax:   619-447-6872 
** MFPA EC Chair                            MFPA:  1-800-603-MFPA
** 1010 Old Chase Ave., Suite B             EMail: [email-masked]
** El Cajon (San Diego Co.), CA 92020 USA   
** WWW:   http://www.cognisys.com           http://www.mfpa.org
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