Beepers were the first compact handheld mobile communication devices to hit the mainstream market. Although they have been largely replaced by smartphones, many individuals continue to use these devices to this day.
Beepers, also known as pagers, are small devices that allow users to receive messages and sound alerts. They operate on separate frequencies and are therefore considered more reliable, as they can bypass mobile phone networks, which may experience interruptions, connectivity issues, or eavesdropping.
Beepers are still trusted by many today – (Photo: indiatvnews.com).
Beepers were a popular communication tool in the West during the 1980s and 1990s. According to data from the beeper manufacturer Spok (USA), there were 61 million beepers in circulation worldwide in 1994.
Although smartphones later dominated the consumer market, beepers continue to be used in certain fields, particularly in hospitals in the United States.
A study published in the Journal of Hospital Medicine in 2017 revealed that nearly 80% of surveyed doctors reported still using beepers, with 50% of these messages related to patient care.
Beepers are also utilized in some illicit activities, such as drug trafficking.
The beeper manufacturer Spok stated: “The signal from a beeper can penetrate steel and metal, while smartphone signals can be blocked.”
Discover Systems, another manufacturer, asserts that their beeper system “represents a more reliable means of communication, especially in cases of Wi-Fi or cellular network outages.”
According to Spok, the first beeper was patented in the United States in 1949 by inventor Alfred Gross—a pioneer in wireless communication devices. Subsequently, beepers were implemented in a hospital in New York.
The term “pager” was trademarked by Motorola in 1959. Motorola’s first pager, the “Pageboy 1”, was introduced in 1964, allowing for sound alerts to be sent via telephone before the technology was refined to enable text messaging starting in the 1980s.
While beepers may not be as prevalent as they once were, their recent usage in specific incidents shows that sometimes, older technology can still play a crucial role in a rapidly changing world.
