The copper network is closing: fax carries on, differently

Timeline, symptoms, solutions, your number: what you need to decide.

In France, Orange stopped selling PSTN lines in November 2018, has been moving classic phone service onto IP area by area since late 2023, and plans to shut down its copper network in batches of municipalities from 2026 to the end of 2030. Fax survives this transition: numbers stay reachable and the protocol does not change. The trouble lies with a machine plugged into a wall socket, left without a line on closure day, or moved onto a router whose voice compression garbles the signal. There are four ways forward: a T.38-capable adapter, an email-to-fax subscription, online sending with FaxTelecom, or another channel your contacts accept. To decide, first ask yourself whether you need to receive faxes or only send them.

PSTN, copper, IP: what are we talking about?

Two shutdowns follow one another and are often confused. The first affects the PSTN, the historic switched telephone service: the line still physically exists, but voice now travels over IP. The second affects the copper itself, the pair of wires linking your socket to the exchange: once the municipality is closed, no signal gets through at all, neither phone nor ADSL. Fibre or a 4G router takes over.

For fax, the underlying picture is reassuring. Landline numbers keep their value, the T.30 protocol remains the common language of every fax machine, and the public bodies, practices and laboratories that receive faxes keep doing so. Only the route changes. An online sending service is therefore unaffected: your PDF leaves from your browser, and FaxTelecom handles the connection all the way to the recipient.

Is your setup affected?

A few quick checks, best done in this order.

  • Follow the fax machine's cable

    If it ends at a telephone wall socket rather than the 'phone' port on your router, the machine relies on the traditional copper line. It will stop working when your municipality is closed.

  • Look at how your plan is labelled

    A landline billed separately from your internet access, often called an 'analogue line' or 'telephone subscription', points to a PSTN line. Your operator can confirm it in a few minutes.

  • Note recent failures

    Faxes that used to go through smoothly and now fail every other time, especially since a new router was installed, usually betray a line that has already moved to IP. The machine is probably not to blame.

  • Reread your operator's letters

    Subscribers are told several months before their area closes. That is the only date that applies to your address: two neighbouring municipalities can switch years apart.

Fax and voice over IP: an awkward pairing

A classic fax machine turns each page into modulated tones, sent like a conversation. On a digital line, those sounds pass through codecs designed for the human ear: compression, jitter, lost packets replaced by a guess. A voice stays understandable despite these approximations; a fax modem loses sync and hangs up, often halfway through a multi-page document.

The T.38 standard works around the problem: it converts the fax signal into data where it enters the IP network, then rebuilds it on arrival. That requires compatible equipment on both sides of the IP leg and an operator that allows it. Before buying an adapter, ask your provider in writing whether your plan supports T.38. Failing that, the uncompressed G.711 codec sometimes works, with no guarantee.

Four ways to carry on

  1. Keep the machine, add a T.38 adapter

    A compatible analogue telephone adapter (ATA), connected to a plan that accepts T.38, extends the life of your fax machine and your paper routines. Expect hardware, configuration and testing: it is the most technical route, and sometimes the most fragile.

  2. Opt for email-to-fax

    A specialist provider hosts a number, new or ported, and forwards incoming faxes to you as PDF email attachments; sending works the same way in reverse. No more paper or dedicated line, but a monthly fee, and your documents are then only as secure as your inbox.

  3. Switch to online sending with FaxTelecom

    If you only send, there is nothing to migrate: a browser and a PDF are enough, with no account or software. One page is free; from the second, it is €3.99 incl. VAT per sending, whether the document runs to 2 pages or 40. FaxTelecom provides neither a number nor reception: to receive, you will need one of the two options above.

  4. Drop fax where you can

    Ask your main contacts: many offer a portal, secure messaging or a dedicated email address. If nobody requires fax from you any more, the copper shutdown becomes a chance to simplify.

Keeping your fax number

Your number is not welded to the copper. In France, landline number portability lets you transfer it to an operator or a fax-over-IP service. The new provider starts the process using your RIO (operator identity code), available free by dialling 3179 from that line. Your contacts, letterheads and forms stay valid.

Follow the right order: choose the solution, start the porting, then let the old line close automatically. Cancelling first can lose the number for good, along with every contact who has saved it over the years.

Common questions about the copper switch-off

When will my municipality be switched off?
That depends on which batch your municipality belongs to in Orange's plan, which runs until 2030. Your operator notifies you several months ahead, and Orange publishes the list of municipalities in each batch.
Will my fax machine suddenly stop working?
On a closed copper line, yes: no dial tone, so no sending or receiving. Where the line has already gone over to IP, the symptoms are sneakier: the machine dials, the connection is made, then the transmission fails at random pages.
Will a newer machine fix the problem?
Usually not: the fault lies in how the signal is carried, not in the machine. A brand-new model on the same router will hit the same limits. Check instead that your adapter and your operator both handle T.38 properly.
Can I send a fax without any landline?
Yes. With FaxTelecom, you drop your PDF into the browser and our servers call the recipient's fax machine. No line or machine on your side: for sending, the copper shutdown does not affect you. A one-page fax is free; for a longer document, it costs €3.99 incl. VAT per sending.

Where to go next

Hand-picked pages to help you prepare, send or prove your fax.

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