This research provides a brief overview of governmental and military applications of facsimilie transmission (FAX) transmission technology. Covered in this overview are (1) the history of the development of the technology, (2) contemporaryapplications of the technology, and (3) probable future appli cations of the technology.
HISTORY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE TECHNOLOGY
As society, both domestic and international, becomes more complex, communication assumes an increasingly significant role. Historically, both procedural improvement and technolog ical innovation have beem employed to enhance communication efficiency and effectiveness.
Advances in electronic transmission technology have revo lutionized most communications requirements. Document trans mission, however, has tended to lag behind. To be sure, modem transmission via computer permitted the efficient transmission of documents created in a digital electronic format. The transmission of existing documents, those not electronically created, and those with complex stylistic characteristics, how ever, required physical transmission.
Improvements in the physical transmission of documents were initiated, when private sector firms began offering over night delivery services, as alternatives to postal delivery. The growth in the use of microcomputers led to the development of information networks, which, among other services, offered document transmission in the form of electronic mail. Later, improvements in facsimilie transmission technology led to the development of the contemporary FAX machines. Recently, FAX technology has been adapted for use with microcomputers. Facsimile machines provide a capability to transmit per fect reproductions of documents and other printed materials over telecommunications systems.1 FAX transmission may occur over telephone lines (the most common application), or via satellite ...