Why are 'old-fashioned' pagers still used today?

Pagers are still widely used today - Photo: indiatvnews.com

Pagers were the first small, handheld mobile communication devices to hit the mass market. Although they have been pushed out of the market by smartphones, many people still use them today.

Recently, pagers became the center of attention on September 17, when hundreds of pagers belonging to Hezbollah members in Lebanon exploded simultaneously, suspected to be caused by Israel.

Pagers, also known as pagers, are small devices that allow users to receive messages and audio alerts. They operate on a separate frequency and are therefore considered more reliable because they can bypass mobile phone networks - which can experience interruptions, connection problems or eavesdropping.

This is one of the reasons Hezbollah uses pagers, especially after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 that led to the current conflict in the Gaza Strip. The armed group asked its members to stop using mobile phones to ensure information security.

Pagers were a popular communication tool in the West during the 1980s and 1990s. According to data from pager manufacturer Spok (USA), there were 61 million pagers in circulation worldwide in 1994.

Although smartphones have since dominated the mass market, pagers are still used in certain areas, especially in hospitals in the United States.

A 2017 study published in the Journal of Hospital Medicine found that nearly 80% of physicians surveyed said they still use pagers, and 50% of those messages were related to patient care.

Pagers are also used in some illegal activities, such as drug trafficking.

"Pager signals can penetrate steel and metal, while smartphone signals can be blocked," says pager maker Spok.

And manufacturer Discover Systems claims that the pager system "represents a more reliable means of communication, especially in the event of a loss of wifi or phone network."

According to Spok, the first pager was patented in the US in 1949 by inventor Alfred Gross - a pioneer in the field of wireless communication devices. The pager was then put into use at a hospital in New York.

The term "pager" was registered by the Motorola Corporation in 1959. Motorola's first pager, the "Pageboy 1", was introduced in 1964, allowing for the sending of audible alerts over the telephone before the technology was perfected, and for sending text messages from the 1980s.

Pagers may not be as popular as they once were, but their appearance in the recent incident shows that sometimes, old technology can still play an important role in a tumultuous world.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/may-nhan-tin-co-lo-si-sao-van-duoc-dung-ngay-nay-20240918134231155.htm