Okay, so you might be in the majority who think that pagers aren’t cool, but here’s hoping I change that – or at least get you thinking about pagers again.

Stereotyped nowadays for only being used by birdwatchers, coastguards and medics, the trusty pager, believe it or not, is still deemed a vital bit of kit! The beeping business that seems ancient in the age of smartphones, I’ve found, is still very much treasured in certain parts of the world, by certain organisations and by certain groups of people.

Admittedly, the facts and figures do show that fewer people are using pagers, but that’s not to say that people don’t want them! Is it the way they look, is it the technology, or is it that they are just deemed useless?

Most traditional pagers certainly look dated in today’s comms gadget landscape. I don’t think there would be any tech-savvy person in this world who would be proud to show off their 80’s belt clipped pager. Having said that, paging people are practical people and want a device that can do a job and do it well. If it hasn’t got an edge to edge display or OLED screen, well frankly, that doesn’t matter.

Some beep, some speak and some give you text messages – hardly big selling points. Put simply, the only real advantage of traditional pagers is their reputation for having slightly better reliability. Where mobile phone networks are patchy, the alternative separate paging network does offer a modest improvement, but with more and more paging services suppliers dwindling into nonexistence, it raises the question as to whether paging networks are sustainable.

With the expense of ground infrastructure, limitations of reach and lack of secure communications being the main causes of the decline in pager popularity, are satellite networks the answer to bring the pager into the 21st century?

Although satellite paging has been achieved in the past, the software and reception limitations and hardware capabilities have severely constrained the feasible range of applications, until now. The new Iridium Burst ™ service (which is fully supported in the new Iridium NEXT constellation) has enabled GDB to deliver a truly global satellite paging solution, that abolishes the issues found with traditional pagers. We’re making pagers cool again.
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How does satellite pager compare to traditional wide area paging? Have a look at the table...

​So, does the introduction of this new satellite pager to the market make the pager cool again? - Maybe not to the 80’s pager consumer market, but it’s definitely a cool gadget for certain groups of people (not just us GDB lot).

GDB is bringing the pager into the 21st century. The GDB Pager exploits the new Iridium Burst service to provide a truly global satellite paging solution that abolishes the issues found with traditional pagers.

Richard Prodger, Technical Director, says, “Whilst satellite paging has been achieved in the past, the reception limitations, software deficiencies and hardware capabilities have severely constrained the feasible range of applications. The GDB Pager allows you to send a message to anyone, anywhere, at any time. Whether you are indoors or outside, on the North Pole or in the middle of the sea – we’ve got it covered!”

Trevor Drawbridge, Director, says “Not only have we completely removed the need for ground infrastructure, the satellite signals can penetrate buildings, partial obstructions and weather phenomenon. We have made it possible for people to transmit messages to tens, hundred, thousands, even millions of devices at the click of a button – with a pricing structure that doesn’t break the bank. From tsunami warnings to weather and traffic alerts, the GDB Pager presents an unrivalled opportunity for businesses, government agencies, military and other entities to broadcast and receive data.”

Jan ten Thije, Product Director, says “The first version of the pager has been designed to withstand rough treatment and use in rough conditions. Security of messages is a major focus for us, through encryption and closed groups we ensure that only authorised pagers receive the messages.”

The main board within the device was designed with the future in mind. GDB is already working on products for the M2M and IoT markets using the same board.

GDB is taking orders for the first version of the GDB Pager and supporting products. To find out more about distributor/reseller partnerships please email [email protected].