I don’t want to be THAT person, but let me indulge in my memories for a minute while I reminisce about the fax machine.

If, like me, you started your career in the 90s then you will have 100% used one to fax your press release – yes FAX your press release – to media.

Imagine this: you’d get up the courage to call your journo, and you’d hear those dreaded words… Fax it over to me. Ok – you’d grab BRAD (not a person) for the right details, and then tap in the fax number of your favourite news desk. On hearing that beep beep whirl chugger chugger, you’d then have an agonising wait for the confirmation it had arrived. You’d almost be praying to smell the spray mount as you dreamed it would make a front cover story.

I can even remember how excited I was when my parents brought home a fax machine so my sister, living in Japan, could send us little letters during the week, saving on postage and a long wait to hear from her. I really thought we’d made it!

I mean it had its downsides too; you’d get all excited as you saw a fax come in, only for you to run out of toner halfway through and it would almost disappear before your eyes. Or you’d hear the exciting beep beep alerting you to a message coming through, you’d run over and then see it wasn’t for you. What a letdown.

So, it was with great sadness that I read that Ofcom, earlier this week, has decided to back the government’s decision to remove the requirement for fax services under the Universal Service Order Legislation – say what? That’s a ruling to ensure phone services are provided to UK citizens at a reasonable and affordable price. The view is that there are many alternatives for us Brits and we, in the main, don’t need it anymore. Tell that to Dolly – I read she still uses it daily!

That said it’s not really a surprise, businesses have wholesale moved from a telephone network to an internet protocol. Fax machines can’t work in the same way now and, therefore, are a technology we no longer need.

Of course, you can voice your complaint about it. You have ONE MONTH to put in your case. But not via Fax!

Goodbye Fax Machine. You were handy at the time, but I am sure the PR pros are surely glad technology has moved on.