On net faxing
Distribution of electronic documents is described, including receiving an electronic document to be distributed, identifying whether a destination identifier is associated with a destination account among a known group of customer accounts, routing the electronic document, and calculating a fee associated with delivery of the electronic document based on whether the destination account is among the known group of customers and a set of billing rules. The set of billing rules may specify a discounted fee for routing an electronic document to each of a known group of customer accounts. In other aspects, the set of billing rules may specify a discounted fee for routing an electronic document to a first group of the known group of customer accounts and specify a standard fee for a second group of the known group of customer accounts.
1. A method for electronic document distribution, the method comprising:
receiving, by a server computer from a client device via an inbound telephony interface of a gateway device or a network interface of the server computer, an electronic document for distribution, the gateway device further having an on-net outbound telephony interface, the gateway device configured for providing a crossover connection between the on-net outbound telephony interface and the inbound telephony interface;
determining, by the server computer, destination accounts for distribution of the electronic document;
determining, by the server computer for each respective destination account, whether the respective destination account has an on-net destination;
responsive to the respective destination account having an on-net destination, designating the electronic document for an on-net delivery to the on-net destination and routing the electronic document to the on-net destination using the crossover connection provided by the gateway device; and
responsive to the respective destination account not having an on-net destination, designating the electronic document for an off-net delivery to an off-net destination and routing the electronic document to the off-net destination via a data network or via the data network and a public switched telephone network.
2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the client device comprises a computer, a multiple-function device, or a network fax machine communicatively connected to the server computer via the data network.
3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the off-net destination comprises a fax machine.
4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the on-net destination comprises a subscriber account of a network-based fax service provided by the server computer.
5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the determining the destination accounts comprises determining whether a destination of the electronic document is associated with a destination account among a group of accounts that subscribe to a network-based fax service provided by the server computer.
6. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
identifying an originating account associated with the electronic document, the identifying further comprising obtaining an identifier associated with the electronic document and searching, using the identifier, a database storing subscriber account information for a group of accounts that subscribe to a network-based fax service provided by the server computer.
7. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
formatting the electronic document for the on-net delivery or for the off-net delivery.
8. A system for electronic document distribution, the system comprising:
a processor;
a network interface;
a non-transitory computer-readable medium; and
stored instructions translatable by the processor for:
receiving, from a client device via an inbound telephony interface of a gateway device or the network interface, an electronic document for distribution, the gateway device further having an on-net outbound telephony interface, the gateway device configured for providing a crossover connection between the on-net outbound telephony interface and the inbound telephony interface;
determining destination accounts for distribution of the electronic document;
determining, for each respective destination account, whether the respective destination account has an on-net destination;
responsive to the respective destination account having an on-net destination, designating the electronic document for an on-net delivery to the on-net destination and routing the electronic document to the on-net destination using the crossover connection provided by the gateway device; and
responsive to the respective destination account not having an on-net destination, designating the electronic document for an off-net delivery to an off-net destination and routing the electronic document to the off-net destination via a data network or via the data network and a public switched telephone network.
9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the client device comprises a computer, a multiple-function device, or a network fax machine communicatively connected to the system via the data network.
10. The system of claim 8 , wherein the off-net destination comprises a fax machine.
11. The system of claim 8 , wherein the on-net destination comprises a subscriber account of a network-based fax service.
12. The system of claim 8 , wherein the determining the destination accounts comprises determining whether a destination of the electronic document is associated with a destination account among a group of accounts that subscribe to a network-based fax service.
13. The system of claim 8 , wherein the stored instructions are further translatable by the processor for:
identifying an originating account associated with the electronic document, the identifying further comprising obtaining an identifier associated with the electronic document and searching, using the identifier, a database storing subscriber account information for a group of accounts that subscribe to a network-based fax service.
14. The system of claim 8 , wherein the stored instructions are further translatable by the processor for:
formatting the electronic document for the on-net delivery or for the off-net delivery.
15. A computer program product for electronic document distribution, the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions translatable by a server computer having a network interface, the instructions when translated cause the server computer to perform:
receiving, from a client device via an inbound telephony interface of a gateway device or the network interface, an electronic document for distribution, the gateway device further having an on-net outbound telephony interface, the gateway device configured for providing a crossover connection between the on-net outbound telephony interface and the inbound telephony interface;
determining destination accounts for distribution of the electronic document;
determining, for each respective destination account, whether the respective destination account has an on-net destination;
responsive to the respective destination account having an on-net destination, designating the electronic document for an on-net delivery to the on-net destination and routing the electronic document to the on-net destination using the crossover connection provided by the gateway device; and
responsive to the respective destination account not having an on-net destination, designating the electronic document for an off-net delivery to an off-net destination and routing the electronic document to the off-net destination via a data network or via the data network and a public switched telephone network.
16. The computer program product of claim 15 , wherein the client device comprises a computer, a multiple-function device, or a network fax machine communicatively connected to the system via the data network.
17. The computer program product of claim 15 , wherein the off-net destination comprises a fax machine.
18. The computer program product of claim 15 , wherein the on-net destination comprises a subscriber account of a network-based fax service.
19. The computer program product of claim 15 , wherein the determining the destination accounts comprises determining whether a destination of the electronic document is associated with a destination account among a group of accounts that subscribe to a network-based fax service.
20. The computer program product of claim 15 , wherein the instructions are further translatable by the server computer for:
identifying an originating account associated with the electronic document, the identifying further comprising obtaining an identifier associated with the electronic document and searching, using the identifier, a database storing subscriber account information for a group of accounts that subscribe to a network-based fax service.