Placing a telephone call to the service provider enables the caller to access a computerized terminal. The caller hears a tone or receives instructions on how to page a subscriber. If the caller wants to leave a telephone number for the paged party to call, the caller can enter that number. The paging terminal automatically determines which pager corresponds to the telephone number dialed. It then routes a signal to one or more radio transmitters located throughout the paging service area.
Pagers monitor specific radio frequencies used by the service providers.
The transmission of the page is encoded so that only the intended recipient of the page can receive and decode the message. If the pager is switched on and is within range of the radio tower, the pager will recognize the coded signal. The pager then converts the signal to data, alerting the owner that a page has been sent with a beep, tone, or vibration. Most pagers have liquid-crystal displays that can show the number of the calling party, or short messages. The owner of the pager can telephone the paging party, or call the paging company to retrieve other messages.