Three parts, one order
An international fax number is the plus sign, the country code, and the national number. The plus stands in for whatever access code you would dial from a phone in your own country. Written that way, the same number works from every country, which is why faxB2B asks for it.
The prefix that trips people up
Many countries print a national trunk prefix — commonly a single leading digit — in front of the local number. That prefix is for callers inside the country, and it is dropped in the international form. A few countries keep their leading digit instead, and lengths vary by region. There is no single rule to apply, so treat a locally written number as a hint, not a source.
A safer procedure
- Ask the recipient to send you the number as they would give it to someone abroad, starting with a plus.
- If all you have is a local form, ask them to confirm the international one rather than converting it yourself.
- Strip spaces, dots and brackets; keep every digit.
- Send one page as a test before you send a twenty-page document.
Where faxB2B can send
Sending is enabled for the US, Canada and countries of the European Union. Numbers outside that set are refused before any call is placed, with a reason saying the country is not enabled — nothing is dialled and nothing is charged. Fax numbers for receiving are available in the US and Canada.
What else to expect abroad
- Longer setup. Connection time varies by destination, carrier and receiving equipment.
- Possible retries. Line quality varies; a failed call that is worth another try is redialled automatically.
- Different paper. Machines abroad are often loaded with A4, so keep your margins generous — see A4 and Letter pages.
- No extensions. faxB2B does not support dialing extension digits after connection; the number has to reach the machine directly.