World to Mobile: Pagers
Remember the movie "Bruce Almighty"? Where did God send the main character messages to a small electronic device? Today we decided to recall the pager - the symbol of wealth in Russia of the nineties and the older brother of modern mobile phones.
Frame from the film "Bruce Almighty" (2003)
Thirty-year-olds may be funny about this issue, but the current students do not even know that there was such a thing. The pager is a miniature radio receiver that allows you to receive short messages at a certain frequency. All messages are sent through the operator: you call the operator, dictate the message and subscriber number. And the operator sends a message to the addressee. Later, bilateral pagers appeared that allow you to communicate without intermediaries.
The first pager was presented by Motorola in 1956. He received signals within a radius of 200 meters and gave a short beep, for which he received his second name, beeper, from the English Beep. Then pagers were used to equip hospitals, and with the development of technology and an increase in the range of action, they found application in police stations and rescue services.
')
Frame from clip Eminem "Stan" (2000)
But miniature devices gained world-wide popularity only in the mid-80s, when in 1986 Motorola launched the Bravo, the most popular pager model with three buttons and a three-line display.
In 1996, almost 100 million people used pagers in the world.
It is based on a radio tuned to a certain frequency of reception of the paging company and the format of received messages. In addition, there was a decoder, a micro-computer - the brains of a pager, a few buttons and later a display.
Pager structure diagram
Cap codes are built into each pager - physical addresses, personal and group. The personal address is unique for each device, and the group address is the same for all pagers with a common language encoding. All cap codes are stored in the operator database. When a customer calls the operator and calls the number of the subscriber, the operator finds his personal cap code and sends a message.
In different countries, paging communication works with different formats. The most common is the POCSAG protocol, developed in the UK in 1978. It has been successfully used so far, with a message transfer rate of 512, 1200, or 2400 bps.
The faster Flex protocol created Motorola in 1993. It used synchronous data transmission, messages were transmitted at 1600, 3200 and 6400 bps. Flex is capable of supporting more than 5 billion addresses — two times more than POCSAG.
ERMES was developed specifically for Europe, fully compatible with the GSM communication standard and adapted to other European cellular networks. The format was created as part of the creation of a pan-European system of personal radio call and worked in the frequency range 169.4 - 169.8 MHz.
In total there were three main types of devices: tonal - pagers of the first generation, they were also beeper, digital - they transmitted information only in digital form and text - with which it was possible to send messages.
The last word in the development of paging was the Twagers: equipped with a qwerty-keyboard, with two-way communication, they allowed to communicate without intermediaries. The first Twigger Tango released Motorola in 1996 with national American operator SkyTel. But even then it was clear that the century of small squeaking devices is ending - the world was actively conquering mobile communications.
Frame from the film "Zero effect" (1998)
Paging appeared in the USSR by the end of the 60s - it was used by employees of the ambulance and some government agencies. In 1979, while preparing for the Olympics-80, the British company Multitone launched the Radio Search network in Moscow, which operated at a frequency of about 43 MHz. She solved the task of quickly transferring the teams to the celebrants and coordinated their actions.
The general public did not use pagers until the collapse of the Soviet Union.
At the height of the 90s, it was a symbol of a wealthy life: bulky mobile phones with their astronomical prices ( Nokia Mobira cost $ 2000 and weighed three kilograms), could afford units, and pagers spread more widely. But the service was still expensive : the connection is about $ 350, and the monthly fee is $ 50-70 per month. The first Russified pager released the already mentioned Multitone to the market - the MIT-472 model cost $ 380 and could receive messages of up to 7,500 characters. Theoretically, this text can be sent to such a device - its volume is slightly more than 7 and a half thousand characters. The display simultaneously displayed a maximum of 94 characters.
If there was no money, but I wanted to stand out, then those who wished to buy an electronic watch, similar to a pager, and proudly hung them on the belt.
There were dozens of paging companies throughout the country: there were no federal operators, and the number of regional companies differed greatly depending on the region.
The quality of communication depended on the number of transmitters at the operator, their power and location. For example, transmitters with a capacity of 350 watts and a coverage radius of 70-80 km worked on the Ostankino tower. In the late 90s, Motorola transmitters or their domestic GM-300 analogues were used. Sometimes they put amplifiers on them.
Each operator worked on its own frequency. The company bought pagers programmed for this frequency and tuned transmitters to it. Or you could order free pagers, and then tune them to your frequency. But this option is longer, because mostly devices brought from Southeast Asia.
Almost the entire market was divided between 11 large companies : Mobil-Telecom, Vesso-Link, Inform-Excom and others. The share of small operators left 3% of the total volume of customers.
According to the State Committee on Communications (now the Ministry of Communications of the Russian Federation), the number of subscribers increased by a factor of 20 from 1994 to 1996, and by the beginning of 1998, about 300 thousand people used the paging service in Russia. More than 70% of the market was concentrated in Moscow and St. Petersburg: 1.1% of the population used pagers in the capital, 0.6% in St. Petersburg. By 2000, it was planned to increase the number of customers three times. But these plans did not come true.
At the beginning of zero, mobile phones began to actively push pagers from the Russian communications market. Back in 2000, Decl was telling the younger generation: “Pepsi, pager, MTV, connect!”, And in 2005, 80% of the population already had mobiles. In 2007, the first iPhone came out.
About pagers forgotten.
In the mass consciousness, small black boxes have long been supplanted by modern smartphones, but pagers are still alive. They are used by employees of hospitals for emergency communications, Emergencies Ministry, Ministry of Internal Affairs, large car service centers, and some nuclear power plants.
In the States, pagers are used in hospitals, rescue services, police - one can say that they returned home after their march around the world. After receiving the message, the doctor seeks into the operating room, the rescuers - to the call, the police - to the scene.
Today in Moscow there are two paging companies - Telekomt and Inform-Ekskom . We talked to a man who has been involved in this kind of communication since 1993, and this is what he told us.
The density of the paging tower's coverage is greater: it works where the cellular communication does not catch, and the gateways are not so loaded, so sending an emergency message to the pager will be faster. The device does not need to be charged, just change the AAA battery about once a month.
Private paging systems are completely under the control of the customer: they are created to his requirements, they do not depend on either cellular operators or on overloads of energy networks and can work for a long time in the absence of a centralized power supply.
Today, the paging connection is cheap - the monthly subscription fee starts from 170 rubles per month, while money cannot be stolen from the account. The price of the pager itself ranges from 700 to 2000 rubles. All these advantages, in the opinion of the remaining paging operators, will not allow to finally oust the pagers from the market.
Frame from the film "Bruce Almighty" (2003)
What is a pager
Thirty-year-olds may be funny about this issue, but the current students do not even know that there was such a thing. The pager is a miniature radio receiver that allows you to receive short messages at a certain frequency. All messages are sent through the operator: you call the operator, dictate the message and subscriber number. And the operator sends a message to the addressee. Later, bilateral pagers appeared that allow you to communicate without intermediaries.
The first pager was presented by Motorola in 1956. He received signals within a radius of 200 meters and gave a short beep, for which he received his second name, beeper, from the English Beep. Then pagers were used to equip hospitals, and with the development of technology and an increase in the range of action, they found application in police stations and rescue services.
')
Frame from clip Eminem "Stan" (2000)
But miniature devices gained world-wide popularity only in the mid-80s, when in 1986 Motorola launched the Bravo, the most popular pager model with three buttons and a three-line display.
In 1996, almost 100 million people used pagers in the world.
How is the pager
It is based on a radio tuned to a certain frequency of reception of the paging company and the format of received messages. In addition, there was a decoder, a micro-computer - the brains of a pager, a few buttons and later a display.
Pager structure diagram
Cap codes are built into each pager - physical addresses, personal and group. The personal address is unique for each device, and the group address is the same for all pagers with a common language encoding. All cap codes are stored in the operator database. When a customer calls the operator and calls the number of the subscriber, the operator finds his personal cap code and sends a message.
In different countries, paging communication works with different formats. The most common is the POCSAG protocol, developed in the UK in 1978. It has been successfully used so far, with a message transfer rate of 512, 1200, or 2400 bps.
The faster Flex protocol created Motorola in 1993. It used synchronous data transmission, messages were transmitted at 1600, 3200 and 6400 bps. Flex is capable of supporting more than 5 billion addresses — two times more than POCSAG.
ERMES was developed specifically for Europe, fully compatible with the GSM communication standard and adapted to other European cellular networks. The format was created as part of the creation of a pan-European system of personal radio call and worked in the frequency range 169.4 - 169.8 MHz.
In total there were three main types of devices: tonal - pagers of the first generation, they were also beeper, digital - they transmitted information only in digital form and text - with which it was possible to send messages.
The last word in the development of paging was the Twagers: equipped with a qwerty-keyboard, with two-way communication, they allowed to communicate without intermediaries. The first Twigger Tango released Motorola in 1996 with national American operator SkyTel. But even then it was clear that the century of small squeaking devices is ending - the world was actively conquering mobile communications.
Frame from the film "Zero effect" (1998)
Pagers in Russia: Pepsi, pager, MTV
Paging appeared in the USSR by the end of the 60s - it was used by employees of the ambulance and some government agencies. In 1979, while preparing for the Olympics-80, the British company Multitone launched the Radio Search network in Moscow, which operated at a frequency of about 43 MHz. She solved the task of quickly transferring the teams to the celebrants and coordinated their actions.
The general public did not use pagers until the collapse of the Soviet Union.
At the height of the 90s, it was a symbol of a wealthy life: bulky mobile phones with their astronomical prices ( Nokia Mobira cost $ 2000 and weighed three kilograms), could afford units, and pagers spread more widely. But the service was still expensive : the connection is about $ 350, and the monthly fee is $ 50-70 per month. The first Russified pager released the already mentioned Multitone to the market - the MIT-472 model cost $ 380 and could receive messages of up to 7,500 characters. Theoretically, this text can be sent to such a device - its volume is slightly more than 7 and a half thousand characters. The display simultaneously displayed a maximum of 94 characters.
If there was no money, but I wanted to stand out, then those who wished to buy an electronic watch, similar to a pager, and proudly hung them on the belt.
There were dozens of paging companies throughout the country: there were no federal operators, and the number of regional companies differed greatly depending on the region.
The quality of communication depended on the number of transmitters at the operator, their power and location. For example, transmitters with a capacity of 350 watts and a coverage radius of 70-80 km worked on the Ostankino tower. In the late 90s, Motorola transmitters or their domestic GM-300 analogues were used. Sometimes they put amplifiers on them.
Each operator worked on its own frequency. The company bought pagers programmed for this frequency and tuned transmitters to it. Or you could order free pagers, and then tune them to your frequency. But this option is longer, because mostly devices brought from Southeast Asia.
Almost the entire market was divided between 11 large companies : Mobil-Telecom, Vesso-Link, Inform-Excom and others. The share of small operators left 3% of the total volume of customers.
According to the State Committee on Communications (now the Ministry of Communications of the Russian Federation), the number of subscribers increased by a factor of 20 from 1994 to 1996, and by the beginning of 1998, about 300 thousand people used the paging service in Russia. More than 70% of the market was concentrated in Moscow and St. Petersburg: 1.1% of the population used pagers in the capital, 0.6% in St. Petersburg. By 2000, it was planned to increase the number of customers three times. But these plans did not come true.
At the beginning of zero, mobile phones began to actively push pagers from the Russian communications market. Back in 2000, Decl was telling the younger generation: “Pepsi, pager, MTV, connect!”, And in 2005, 80% of the population already had mobiles. In 2007, the first iPhone came out.
About pagers forgotten.
Pagers today
In the mass consciousness, small black boxes have long been supplanted by modern smartphones, but pagers are still alive. They are used by employees of hospitals for emergency communications, Emergencies Ministry, Ministry of Internal Affairs, large car service centers, and some nuclear power plants.
In the States, pagers are used in hospitals, rescue services, police - one can say that they returned home after their march around the world. After receiving the message, the doctor seeks into the operating room, the rescuers - to the call, the police - to the scene.
Today in Moscow there are two paging companies - Telekomt and Inform-Ekskom . We talked to a man who has been involved in this kind of communication since 1993, and this is what he told us.
The density of the paging tower's coverage is greater: it works where the cellular communication does not catch, and the gateways are not so loaded, so sending an emergency message to the pager will be faster. The device does not need to be charged, just change the AAA battery about once a month.
Private paging systems are completely under the control of the customer: they are created to his requirements, they do not depend on either cellular operators or on overloads of energy networks and can work for a long time in the absence of a centralized power supply.
Today, the paging connection is cheap - the monthly subscription fee starts from 170 rubles per month, while money cannot be stolen from the account. The price of the pager itself ranges from 700 to 2000 rubles. All these advantages, in the opinion of the remaining paging operators, will not allow to finally oust the pagers from the market.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/341836/
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