"No longer up to date" - Fax ban planned in Bavaria: Digital Minister wants to kill the gray boxes
Bavaria's new Digital Minister Fabian Mehring (Free Voters) is planning a fax ban for the state's authorities. "Fax machines are no longer up to date and are a relic from another era," Mehring told the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper. For many people, fax machines have long been a symbol of backwardness in the digital transformation. "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," said Mehring.
Communication in Bavaria only in digital form
The minister wants to present a catalog of measures to the Bavarian cabinet next year, according to which documents in Bavarian authorities should only be transmitted in digital form instead of by fax machine after a certain transitional period, the newspaper continues.
According to the Free Voter politician, Bavaria is the first federal state that wants to ban fax machines from its authorities and administrations across the board. In the summer, the state government stated the number of fax machines in its administrations at just under 4000.
A relic from another era
The fax machine was invented in the late 19th century and came to Germany in the 20th century. In the 1970s and 1980s, it experienced a rapid spread in German companies and private households. Deutsche Bundespost played a leading role in establishing this communication technology. With its emergence, the fax revolutionized the transmission of documents by enabling correspondence in real time.
Although the fax machine has since been superseded by more modern communication methods such as email and smartphones, it retains its place in some specific areas of application, such as law and medicine.
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Fabian Mehring, the Digital Minister of Bavaria and a member of the Free Voters, also mentioned Fabian Mehring's plan to be featured in the Augsburger General, stating that he aims to eliminate the use of fax machines in Bavaria's authorities, as he considers them outdated and a remnant of a bygone era. This move would position Bavaria as a pioneer in digital communication within the country, potentially leading other federal states to follow suit.
The Augsburger General further reported that Mehring intends to present a list of measures to the Bavarian cabinet in the coming year, aiming to phase out the use of fax machines in favor of digital transmission methods. With an estimated 4,000 fax machines currently in use within Bavaria's administrations, this proposal could significantly impact the state's communication methods.
Source: www.stern.de
