How do modern pager systems work?

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Did you know that pagers are still in existence? They very much are; in fact, in some industries, pagers are still crucial. Take healthcare as an example. Over 8/10 healthcare professionals use pagers at work for fast and secure communication, saying that the reliability of this tech still makes it the best possible choice.

Pagers have obviously changed since the early versions you may remember from the nineties, so let’s take a closer look.

How do pagers work?

A pager is a small physical telecommunication device that works on a pager system such as www.dinggly.com/. It uses the pager system to receive incoming radio signals from the pager’s network, with the paging networks broadcasting digital signals via defined frequencies. When there is a pager within the range of a transmitter, it will receive the signals, listen to them, and wait to hear its unique pager address. When it receives this, it will take the message and release a sound or vibration to alert the pager user that there is a new communication.

What are paging networks?

Modern paging system technologies work on a paging network. There are two types of paging networks: on-site systems that use high-power transmitters and low-power alternatives that send messages locally within a small area for in-house notifications. These might be used in a hospital, for example, to alert a consultant, or in a restaurant to alert a customer to an available table. Business World has more on this:

Wide area networks exist and use high-powered transmitters across the UK to get full nationwide coverage. These networks are superior to the more common mobile phone networks in many ways. They can typically share communications further with less interference and do so incredibly reliably, which means pagers can be used in settings where there might be poor mobile phone reception. An example of this is in basements or hospitals where there are thick concrete walls. The networks can also offer overlapping coverage.

Far from being out of use, pagers are more relevant than ever in some industries.