Choosing a Wide Area Pager

This guide has been designed to help you decide which pager best suits your needs.

Rental and Purchase Options

There are different methods of obtaining a pager from us:

Rental Pagers

The pager (Message, Numeric or Tone) is supplied under a rental agreement, with a quarterly fee (payable in advance). The pager number is transferable (i.e in the case of loss, irreparable damage or upgrade). Additional optional and value-added services are available. Specific option details can be found on each pager's product description page. We can also supply any of our Rental pagers on a Short Term contract. Pager hire can be for as short as a month at a time. Please contact us for details and pricing options.

Call Charges

Call charges will depend upon whether you are calling from a landline, mobile telephone, from overseas or via the Internet and whether you are calling a Rental or a Purchase pager.

Calls to Rental Pagers

Calls to Rental pagers from BT landlines are charged by the length of time you are on the phone. The pence per minute price also varies according to the time of day. The BT tariff code is 'r - Calls to Pagers & Voice Messaging Services'. Other operators (including mobile networks) may charge different rates.

Understanding the differences between pager types

There are three types of pager currently available in the UK; tone, numeric and message (also known as 'alphanumeric').

Tone Pagers

Tone pagers are the most basic type of pager. They have a screen to display information received and emit a 'bleep' or vibrate when called. They are useful when the user only needs to be prompted to take pre-determined action in response to an alert (i.e. when the pager 'bleeps' call home).

Numeric Pagers

Numeric pagers have a small screen which can display a number message. Callers dial the pager number and are then prompted to key in a numeric message. The number entered is then sent, via the paging network, to the pager which alerts the user and displays the number. The numeric message can be any series of numbers (up to a maximum of 12 digits) and many users devise number codes that can be used to expand the range of messages.

Message Pagers

Message pagers can receive both numbers and text up to a maximum of between 80 and 240 characters (depending upon the model chosen) and have screens capable of displaying between 2 and 8 lines of text at a time. Messages can be sent via a Call Centre operator, a Web Portal or e-mail (by arrangement).

Considering your paging needs

Asking yourself the following questions about your probable pager usage will help clarify what features and services you will need:

Who needs to contact you?

Will you be using your pager primarily for business or personal reasons? Think about how your partner, children (or parents), friends, clients, or work colleagues will send messages to your pager. Will they be phoning, e-mailing or using a Web Portal?

What sort of information do you need?

Do your clients or friends need you to call them back so you can have a conversation? If so, then either a simple tone pager or a more versatile numeric pager should be adequate.

Do you need to have detailed messages?

If so, then a sophisticated message pager would be more appropriate.

What's your communication style?

You may just want to screen your messages before deciding which ones to reply to first. Or, you may prefer to get the information you need without having to get involved in potentially lengthy telephone calls.

Selecting the right model

The following additional considerations should help you to choose between the various models available:

Weight and size

Portability is a particular benefit of pagers. Our Bravo message pager measures 79mm x 54mm x 19mm (or about the size of a credit card, but thicker) and weighs just 65g (battery included). Our Alert tone pager is even smaller, measuring just 69mm x 45mm x 30mm (including belt-clip).

Battery life

Long battery life is one of the advantages pagers have over mobile phones. Pagers, even under near-constant use should use one small (AA or AAA) battery every month or so.

Display size and quality

The size and display quality is of importance when comparing message pagers, especially if you anticipate receiving a lot of long text messages. Our Bravo and Prima message pagers have 4-line backlit display screens (the Bravo message pager also has a zoom facility). Functionality. There are many additional services available to enhance your pager. Some are available for all our pagers (tone, numeric and message), others will depend upon pager type, model or the network they are connected to.

For detailed information about any of the subjects covered, please feel free to contact us.