Fax for the memories: Ofcom backs death warrant for 80s office staple

Communications watchdog supports removal of fax services from rules governing telecoms provision

For 20 years, the fax machine's beeping, static-strewn screech was the sound of the future. But the pace of technology is pitiless: like carrier pigeons, portable cassette players and videocassette recorders, the fax machine is finally an official relic of the past.

The death sentence was handed down on Tuesday in the form of Ofcom's announcement that it was minded to back the government's decision to remove the requirement for fax services under the Universal Service Order (USO) legislation. These are the rules that ensure phone services are available to people across the UK at an affordable price.

Julia Roberts and Matthew Perry indulged in some heavy-duty flirting over fax prior to Roberts appearing on Friends in 1996. There was a lot of flirting over faxing," said Friends co-creator Kevin Bright. She was giving him these questionnaires like, Why should I go out with you?' And everyone in the writers' room helped him explain to her why." The technology seems to have worked: the couple dated from 1996 to 1997.

Dolly Parton still uses a fax machine as her primary mode of communication.

In 2011, Prince William and Kate Middleton sent out their wedding invites by fax. Courtiers told the press that faxing was the most efficient way of sending out the invites across the world.

Camille Paglia and Julie Burchill engaged in what must be history's most vitriolic fax war in 1993 when Paglia was asked to review Burchill's book for the Modern Review. Burchill had previously given Paglia's own book a bad review, so Paglia refused. This spiralled into the pair duelling via fax, with Burchill calling Paglia pathetic" and Paglia firing back that Burchill was a sheltered, pampered sultan of slick, snide wordplay, without direct experience of life of any kind", who nobody had even heard of outside England. The faxes were later published in the Modern Review by the then editor, Toby Young, who, in doing so, also incurred Paglia's wrath.

Stephen Hawking sent a fax to the music and fashion magazine the Face in 1995 in response to them asking for the formula for time travel. Hawking replied, via his personal assistant: Thank you for your recent fax. I do not have any equations for time travel. If I had, I would win the national lottery every week."

When David Bowie told Laurie Anderson he thought she could read minds, her response was: You know, I'm pretty sure I can't." But Bowie was convinced and had the musician randomly fax him pictures she had drawn to see if they matched up with his own. Apparently they did.