Summary
No. Operators are dismantling the analogue network, but fax numbers themselves survive, and transmission with them. The fax machine screwed to its wall socket will lose the dial tone the day its municipality switches over; a web service like Faxeroo, which does not borrow your line, will stay unaffected by the operation.
An infrastructure going dark, a practice that remains
In France, Orange has marketed no PSTN line since November 2018 and began in early 2025 the technical closure of its copper, municipality by municipality, until 2030. What disappears is the physical medium: fixed numbers remain keepable and faxing stays a recognised channel in health, administration and many trades.
The fax machine on switch-over day
On the day of the switch-over, the device screwed to the wall socket hears no dial tone anymore. Reconnected to the telephone outlet of a box, it finds a line… and often fails: codecs cut for speech deform the fax tones.
Four routes to continue
Four solutions present themselves: fit the line with a box compatible with T.38 — the protocol designed for fax over IP; adopt a fax-to-email subscription, which keeps a receiving number; send via a site like Faxeroo; or stop something else with your correspondents — a fallback channel, agreed between you.
Usage decides: to purely send, a browser will do, with no hardware and no line. The complete file on the end of copper and the fax over IP and T.38 page detail each option.
Key points
- Copper goes dark, faxing subsists.
- A fax machine on a box often fails without T.38 support.
- Alternatives: T.38 box, fax by email, online sending, another channel.
- Faxeroo does not borrow your line: the switch-over leaves it untouched.