Pagers used to be the favored communication method for doctors, physicians, and technicians in in the 1980''s and early 1990''s. Though smart phones have replaced pagers and beepers in many cases, there is still a need for those devices.
With the huge growth of mobile phone use in the 1990s and early 2000s,
you might assume that mobile pagers have become obsolete. In fact, one might imagine that any use for a pager not replaced making a phone call on a cell phone would surely be supplanted by text messaging. However, pagers and beepers still have a significant role in today''s society.
There are different types of pagers utilized today. The "one-way" system will receive only a few numbers for the receiver to call, while the "alpha-numeric" and "two-way" pagers can send and receive e-mail, give numeric messages, and complete SMS messaging. The largest market for pagers today are those in need of "critical messaging" support. Fire fighters, paramedics, IT support staff, nurses, and other medical personnel frequently use pagers.
Even today, pagers are relied on for quick personal or group messaging. Many groups cannot function properly when they experience the "network overload" associated with heavily trafficked cellular networks. This congestion is not an issue with pagers that receive messages via satellites, as well as many terrestrial networks that use different frequencies than cell phones. So despite the fact that the U.S. paging industry reported a decline in revenue generated in 2003 ($6.2 billion) to 2008 ($2.1 billion), emergency staff members will most likely continue the need for paging devices within future markets.
Examples of Pager Use Today
Pagers are used to notify emergency personnel such as lifeboat crews and on-duty firefighters.
Security services, including global security use pagers as there is no way of tracking where the pager holder is.
Pagers do not interfere with sensitive medical equipment, so they are used to summon medical staff members.
Emergency services such as police, coast guard, and local governments use pagers as a back-up method to notify others when mobile transmitters become unavailable.
Pagers are a necessity in the IT world. When cellular networks become interrupted, on-call technicians will make use of the pager to notify engineers in an emergency.
In some situations, Construction and mining personnel will use a pager to notify someone as it will not trigger an explosion as a mobile device is capable of doing.
Deaf people obviously have no use for a cell phone, but can make fine use of a pager.
Railway staffs have been known to use pagers to supplement mobile phone usage.
Pagers are used in corporate and high security locations.
Ironically, rare bird chasers in Britain will make use of a pager by paying specific companies to message them with rare bird sightings.
The United States utilizes a two-way paging system with other countries for power control meter readings.
Some irrigation control systems and traffic signals are controlled by paging network systems.
Probably one of the most popular uses for a pager is the "restaurant pager," as it will notify a ravenous group that their table is ready.
