Telecommunications - Digital Minister Mehring wants to abolish faxes in public authorities
Bavaria's Digital Minister Fabian Mehring (Free Voters) wants to ban the fax from public administration. "The fax is no longer up to date and is a relic from a different era," he said according to a statement from his ministry on Tuesday, which was headlined "Mehring has had enough of faxing".
He wants documents in Bavarian authorities to be transmitted only in digital form instead of by fax machine after a certain transitional period.
"Irrespective of the problems with data protection, fax machines have long been a symbol of backwardness in the digital transformation for many people," said the minister. The "Augsburger Allgemeine" had previously reported. "Our Bavaria is a high-tech state. We should therefore lead the way nationwide and be the first federal state to pull the plug on the fax in public administration."
Millions of people in Bavaria have long been organizing their lives digitally, shopping online, planning their vacations online and searching for their favourite restaurant online, Mehring said. "It is all the more dangerous for our democracy if the impression arises that the state cannot keep up with the future and remains stuck in the past."
The minister therefore wants to present a catalog of measures to the Bavarian cabinet next year. According to the ministry, the fax ban is part of a strategy with which the Digital Minister intends to further accelerate the digitalization of the administration in the new year. According to the Free Voter politician, Bavaria is the first federal state to ban fax machines from its authorities and administrations across the board. In the summer, the state government stated that the number of fax machines in its administrations was just under 4,000.
"If people are to trust the state, its administration must not be bureaucratic, dusty or antiquated. Instead, we need to create an innovative state that operates in line with the times and is perceived as modern, so that citizens can identify with it in a positive way. Fax machines from the last century do not fit in with this," said Mehring.
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- The 'Augsburger General' reported on Digital Minister Mehring's plans to abolish faxes in Bavarian public authorities, citing concerns about its outdated nature and symbol of backwardness in digital transformation.
- The German Government has not yet commented on Bavaria's decision to ban faxes in public administration, but other states may follow suit if they see the potential benefits in reducing paper use and improving efficiency.
- In Munich, the largest city in Bavaria and a major center for telecommunications in Germany, businesses are already transitioning away from fax machines in favor of digital communication to stay competitive and reduce costs.
- As the 'Augsburger General' noted, Free Voter politician Mehring's fax ban is part of a larger strategy to accelerate digitalization in Bavarian administration, paving the way for more advanced forms of telecommunications like hologram telephony in the future.
Source: www.stern.de
