Patent ID: 7605934

Claim:
A method of communicating a message via a computer network, the method comprising: providing internet access services to a plurality of subscribers with a target server by receiving with a plurality of modems connected to the target server a plurality of in-bound requests from the subscribers for access to the Internet, wherein the target server is located within a same local-toll area of a public switched telephone network as a target transceiver, and wherein the target transceiver is different than the subscribers sending in-bound requests to the target server; receiving at the target server a message originated by a sender transceiver and communicated to the target server by a sending server wherein the sending server receives the message from the sender transceiver with an inbound communication, and wherein the sending server communicates the message to the target server via the Internet, wherein the message is directed to the target transceiver by the target server, and wherein the messages are to be sent as outbound facsimile transmissions from the target server to the target transceiver, and wherein the modems that receive the in-bound requests for access to the Internet from the subscribers are further configured to transmit the message as a facsimile transmission from the target server to the target transceiver via the public switched telephone network; determining with a processor whether one or more modem ports at the target server is inactive such that at least one of the modem ports is not receiving in-bound requests for Internet access from one or more of the subscribers; if none of the modem ports are inactive, applying a variable wait time at the target server, wherein a duration of the variable wait time is applied based at least in part on historical data, based at least in part on the number of modems, and based at least in part on the number of subscribers; after the variable wait time, determining with the target server whether one or more of the modem ports is inactive; sending the message as an outgoing facsimile transmission via an available modem and the public switched telephone network from the target server to the target transceiver if at least one of the modem ports is inactive; and sending a confirmation via the internet from the target server to the sending server confirming the sending of the message as a facsimile transmission to the target transceiver.