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From the Dawn of Mobile Communications

Why Pagers Are Still in Use Today

You might think that pagers have had their day these days. But they are still in use.
You might think that pagers have had their day these days. But they are still in use. Photo: Getty Images

December 12, 2024, 8:48 am | Read time: 4 minutes

Even before the cell phone boom in the 1980s, small, gray, or black devices that fit in every pocket suddenly appeared everywhere. Pagers, beepers, or pocket beepers were considered a status symbol at the time. When it beeped or vibrated back then, the owner also signaled: “Hey, I’m important.” Nobody really needs one of these things today. But pagers are still not extinct.

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The expectation of constant availability is causing significant stress, particularly in the workplace. Today, disconnecting from work and technology is not as simple as it once was. This was the exact opposite situation 40 years ago. Forty years ago, reaching someone via a landline was an adventurous and time-consuming endeavor. Before the advent of cell phones, so-called pagers were the devices that marked a triumphant step forward in communication. TECHBOOK looks back at their early days and reveals where they are still used today.

Accessibility, a Valuable Asset

In the 1950s, constant availability was not yet a nightmare but a distant dream. It began in the USA. There, some inventors developed so-called radio receivers – the official name for the devices.

The name pager only became established later. The name is derived from the bellboys in hotels. In the good old days, the bellboy would always turn up when a guest received a call or needed to come to reception.

The developers aimed to market the first radio receivers, or pagers, to doctors and hospitals. The medical profession certainly sees a benefit in these devices. However, this attempt failed because many hospital staff members found the devices too complicated to use.

A pager works very simply. As a rule, the device is linked to a telephone number. If this number is called, the device beeps. The recipient then knows what to do. For example, to call a specific ward in the hospital or to go to a specified location. This system was not yet user-friendly.

Pagers are small, functional, and inexpensive

Nonetheless, the evolution of pager technology continued to progress. The devices are becoming smaller, more functional, and cheaper. In Germany, the first radio receivers cost several thousand marks plus monthly usage fees. Well-known German brands such as Telefunken and Grundig entered the market in the mid-1970s.

At that time, the first frequencies were activated by the German Federal Post Office. These were at the lower end of FM radio, i.e., 87 megahertz. With some technical knowledge, it was possible to intercept these radio signals using a standard radio.

Pagers experienced a big boom in the 1980s. The latest generation not only beeped or vibrated but even showed the phone number on a gray display. This feature enabled the recipient to immediately see who was calling and respond by returning the call using a landline. This is because pagers do not have a callback channel.

However, the device can also be used to send and receive short text messages. It felt like writing a text message. At that time, the concept of ‘text messaging’ was not yet known.

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Pagers Live on in Everyday Life

It was only with the emergence of widely available mobile devices, or cell phones, that pagers became popular. From the 1990s onwards, pagers quickly disappeared from trouser pockets. Those who could afford it began to make calls on the go with their mobile phones.

However, pagers are still not extinct. Interestingly, many emergency services, fire departments, and hospitals still rely on radio receivers. This is due to the superior reliability of these devices in transmitting signals compared to smartphones. In addition, battery consumption is extremely low.

The German government has been trying to set up a functioning smartphone alert system for years. The NINA app is the result. However, test alerts via NINA have shown that the transmission does not work as reliably as hoped. Experts fear that not all people would be reached in the event of an emergency. This unreliability can be attributed to dead zones or the congestion of public networks during emergencies.

In fact, pagers are still the better alternative for emergencies of national importance, according to the experts. This is because they transmit via their own stable networks. Consequently, an alarm transmitted through these networks would reliably reach the intended recipient.

It doesn’t always have to be catastrophic. Sometimes, hunger is enough. You may have been handed one of these black devices after placing an order. These are also simple pagers. These simple pagers notify you: “Your order is ready.” Enjoy your meal.

This article is a machine translation of the original German version of TECHBOOK and has been reviewed for accuracy and quality by a native speaker. For feedback, please contact us at info@techbook.de.

Topics #amex Evergreener History
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