But the tiny electronic devices remain a vital means of communication in some areas such as healthcare and emergency services thanks to their durability and long battery life.
Its the cheapest and most efficient way to communicate to a large number of people about messages that dont need responses, said a senior surgeon at a major UK hospital, adding that pagers are commonly used by doctors and nurses across the countrys National Health Service (NHS).
Its used to tell people where to go, when, and what for.
Pagers grabbed headlines on Tuesday when thousands used by members of militant group Hezbollah were detonated simultaneously across Lebanon, killing at least nine people and wounding nearly 3 000 others.
According to a senior Lebanese security source and another source, explosives inside the devices were planted by Israels Mossad spy agency.
