Ditchin the Pagers

[TEM]

I've been asked to consider cutting back or outright eliminating the pagers in our station, and rely on our cell phones for all text and voice communication. Anyone else have done that? What were the drawbacks?

I'm old school in a sense I guess... I still like having a pager for at the very least having some sort of redundancy in our field communication (two ways went long ago). My concerns having a backup to the cells are very real, though. During the Dec. 2003 earthquake here, all the cell phones went dead, but the pagers still worked. It was better than nothing.

Let me know if you ditched the pagers, and how it has or has not worked for you.

Thanks.
TM

 

[Dedline]

we still use the pagers to send bursts of text like a kind of notepad. like satellite operators their coordinates, some copy off the wires, phone numbers to call, etc. I could see us losing them if reporters went to blackberries or laptops, but that would still be a pain. I prefer keeping them right now.

 

[Run 'n' Get 'em]

News dept. here has gone nextel... i530's for the photogs/sat truck op, blackberries for the reporters..... so far so good, nextel coverage around here is good

Production has pagers for their directors for some reason

EDIT: Spell/grammar check

[ April 22, 2005, 12:19 AM: Message edited by: SpaShooter ]

 

[camdogg]

I have cell and pager. Just got the cell in Feb but most photogs keep pager on their hip and cell in the car

 

[El Guapo]

We do Nextels...ditched the pagers. Not too many drawbacks. It's nice to get directions sent to your pager, can't do that anymore. Pagers are a discreet/informative way to get pulled out of a meeting, can't do that anymore. Otherwise, i don't miss 'em a bit. Neither does the rest of the staff.

 

[TEM]

Thanks guys for your insight. Its always to get feedback from all of you.

I would LOVE to go Nextel, but their coverage here on the coast is awful, cell service isn't much better but its cheaper. Even cheaper is the pagers. So with some careful paring down, and negotiating with our provider, I think I've met the request from the biz office... for now .

TM

 

[Branden.]

What's a pager?

 

[SandRat]

I can't imagine giving up pagers.

There seems to be a huge difference between cell phone coverage (especially NEXTEL) and the page broadcast. Many, many times I received pages saying I couldn't be reached by phone, even last Friday ... lucky for them, we still use them.

 

[C St. SW]

Other than your private direct 2-way, one way pagers will always be your cheapest bottom line means of reaching your crews. In a major news event, forget cell phones. The network will be completely overloaded and useless. I am required to keep a one way here in DC for that very reason, plus there are times when I have to go places that cells and blackberries are not allowed.

My pager may only go off two or three times a year, but on the day it counts, I'd rather have it than not.

[ April 23, 2005, 12:43 PM: Message edited by: C St. SW ]

 

[Tazam77]

Not a chief, but:
I got a page yesterday in the basement of a library. Later I found out the desk had tried to call me twice. My cell phone had no signal.

 

[2gigch1]

Redundancy is important, and it's kinda sad your old two-way has gone away. Two ways may be monitored but I can't tell you how many times the common conversation allows others not on your story chime in with info and ideas. Also, in emegencies, two way radios will still work when cells won't. Like 9-11 in DC...

 

[JTFCM]

I have to agree with 2gigch1, I use a nextel and a pager. The nextel is always loosing signal, but the pager seems to work everywhere.

 

[focusthis]

A reporter of ours tried the text message feature, but says they often arrive hours or even a day late.

Doesn't someone else offer Push-To-Talk service and text?

I think reporters with 2-way pagers, and photogs with cell phones and radios has worked well for me.

 

[SandRat]

Originally posted by focusthis:
A reporter of ours tried the text message feature, but says they often arrive hours or even a day late.

Text messages can take a while to reach a phone/blackberry and NO phone can receive a message when it doesn't have a signal. If a pager is within the radius of the transmitter it will get the message.

Also, when disaster strikes (even moderate spot news) it's not likely that a cell phone will even work. Two ways have been my only means of communication during tornado coverage ... I'd think the same for most natural disasters.

 

[aLtErEgO]

Our coverage sucks around may area so we have to keep the pagers.

 

[canuckcam]

My assignment editors have gotten used to texting me addresses on my personal phone rather than using the two-way. Oh yes, and questions for MOSs I tend to forget...

During the huge blackout in 2003, you couldn't get a call out on any cell phone provider (and if you could, chances are the other end is down.) ... the only thing that worked was Telus Mike's two-way (Nextel) ... and I even got Internet service (albeit pathetically slow) with the phone hooked up to my laptop.

There are plenty of areas where pagers recieve but cell phones are all but dead - subway tunnels, underground garages, etc. Of course, if the desk pages, I gotta fish around for a quarter to call back - if I can find a payphone!

That being said, I wonder why Motorola can't build a pager into a cell phone for industrial users. Supply/demand I guess.