Very popular in the 1990s, the pagers — also known as beep — are communication devices, created long before cell phones became popular. On Tuesday (17), the explosion of some of these devices in Lebanon caused the death of at least nine people and injured around 2,800.
According to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) the telephone pager was an invention patented in 1949 by Alfred J. Gross an engineer considered a pioneer in wireless mobile communication.
After creating two-way radios for personal use, Al Gross discovered that he could adapt the devices for remote wireless telephone signaling. In other words, he built discriminator circuits into a pocket-sized wireless receiver that responded selectively to specific signals.
The first models launched were only capable of indicating to the recipient the number of the person they wanted to communicate with. From then on, the person would have to use a telephone — which at the time was still a landline —, according to the website. Discover Systems one of the pager manufacturers.
Created to fit in your pocket, over the years, technology evolved and gained larger screens, capable of displaying text messages. This way, the recipient would not have to call the sender and find out the reason for the contact.
Even with the popularization of mobile phones, there are still people who use pagers today. Doctors, restaurants, logistics teams, factory and warehouse workers all take advantage of this method of sending a message immediately without requiring Wi-Fi or a telephone network.
Pager explosion in Lebanon
At least nine people were killed and around 2,800 injured after pagers exploded in Lebanon, the health ministry said. Hezbollah confirmed the deaths of some of its members and blamed Israel for the incident.
All of the devices that exploded were new and had been purchased by Hezbollah in recent months, a Lebanese security source told CNN.
It is not yet known how the explosions were caused and Lebanese authorities are investigating what happened.
Israel said it would not comment on the case.
This content was originally published in What are pagers? Devices were used in attack in Lebanon on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
Charles Grill is a tech-savvy writer with over 3 years of experience in the field. He writes on a variety of technology-related topics and has a strong focus on the latest advancements in the industry. He is connected with several online news websites and is currently contributing to a technology-focused platform.
