Posted on 09/17/24
| News Source: JPost
The TikTok, Instagram, and WhatsApp generation has no idea about the device that came before mobile phones. It was called the "beeper," and it allowed journalists, doctors, technicians, and managers to receive messages even from remote areas. The cyberattack which wounded Hezbollah terrorists throughout multiple countries has revealed that that the device, which many thought had died out, is still being used by Hezbollah.
The beeper, which received short messages and alerted its user with a beep, was originally invented in the US in the 1920s. Al Gross, the entrepreneur who also invented the first small radio, developed the beeper in the 1940s. Initially, it was used in security and public systems in the US, especially in hospitals and emergency units. In the 1950s, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the beeper for widespread commercial use, marking its beginning as a personal communication solution.
In Israel, the beeper became particularly popular from the 1970s until the early 1990s. The device was commonly used by professionals who needed to be available at all times, such as doctors, emergency personnel, security workers, and businesspeople. For them, the beeper was an efficient way to stay in contact outside of the office without the need for a landline phone. Users would receive a short voice or text message, typically requesting them to return a call to a specific number.
The beeper works by transmitting radio waves on frequencies assigned to each device. When a message is received, the device emits a beep, prompting the user to return the call. As technology advanced, the devices became smaller, and short messages (numbers or a few words) could appear on the beeper’s small screen.
The beeper's operation was simple yet ingenious: when someone wanted to send a message to the beeper user, they would call the beeper center and give the message to the operator. The message would then be sent via a radio frequency unique to the user’s device. Upon receiving the message, the beeper would emit a loud beep (hence its Hebrew name, "beeper") or, in some cases, vibrate.