Pagers: Lebanon blasts targeting Hezbollah bring vintage devices into focus

Pagers, widely used in the 20th century, operated by transmitting and receiving radio signals. Their distinctive features, along with privacy and security, made them a preferred communication mode among Hezbollah militants.

In Short

• Pagers are old communication devices, now mostly obsolete
• They are still used in critical areas for reliability and security
• Possible collusion with makers or overheating claimed as blast reasons

Hundreds of pagers, a communication device used by Hezbollah members, exploded across Lebanon on Tuesday, killing at least nine people and injuring nearly 3,000 in a major security incident in the region. The Iran-backed militant group has blamed Israel for the mysterious blasts.

The incident has brought pagers back into the spotlight, decades after they fell out of popular use. Here’s what pagers are and how they operate:

WHAT ARE PAGERS

Pagers, once a staple of communication in the late 20th century, are simple, wireless telecommunications devices that receive and display messages. The rise of mobile phones, with their ability to make calls, send texts, and later even access the internet, rendered these devices obsolete.

Traditionally, pagers are one-way communication devices, meaning they can only receive alerts but cannot respond. More sophisticated versions, known as two-way pagers, offer the ability to send and receive text messages.

HOW PAGERS OPERATE

The operation of a pager relies on a dedicated network of radio transmitters. When a message is sent, it first passes through a central terminal, which then broadcasts the message over a specific frequency. Radio antennas, part of the paging network, send out the signal to all pagers tuned to that frequency. Once the message is received, the pager alerts the user with a beep, vibration, or flashing light.

Pagers operate on very high frequency (VHF) or ultra-high frequency (UHF) radio waves, differentiating them from mobile phones, which rely on cellular networks.

The device typically has four key components: an antenna that receives the radio signals, a receiver that decodes the incoming messages, a display to show the message, and a battery. Each pager is assigned a unique identifier.

STILL IN USE

Despite being overshadowed by modern communication devices, pagers are still in use, albeit rarely, in some critical areas due to their distinct advantages. They are known for their reliability, especially in areas where cellular signals are weak or unavailable, such as inside hospitals or in remote regions. Their long battery life is another plus, with some devices lasting for days or even weeks on a single charge.

Communication through pagers is also considered more secure and private, which is one reason Hezbollah has continued to use them for their operations.

Pagers are still used in industries where quick, reliable communication is crucial. For example, in healthcare, pagers remain essential for doctors and nurses who need to communicate quickly in environments where cell phones cannot be used due to the risk of interfering with medical devices. Emergency services, including police and fire departments, also continue to rely on pagers for immediate alerts.

POSSIBLE REASONS FOR THE BLAST

Hezbollah has blamed Israel for the mysterious blasts of thousands of pagers in Lebanon on Tuesday. Lebanese authorities have called it an "Israeli cyber attack".

An anonymous Hezbollah official, speaking to the Associated Press under the condition of anonymity, stated that the explosions were the result of a “security operation targeting the devices.”

Though there is no confirmed explanation so far for the blasts, some argue that Israel might have colluded with the manufacturers to plant explosives in the devices.

According to former US National Security Agency intelligence analyst David Kennedy, “It’s more likely that Israel had human operatives... in Hezbollah. The pagers would have been implanted with explosives and likely only detonated when a specific message was received.”

He cited a previous instance where Israel allegedly planted 15 grams of RDX explosive in a mobile phone to kill Hamas leader Yahya Ayyash in 1996.

In that case, Shin Bet, the Israeli intelligence agency, stuffed Ayyash’s phone with 15 grams of RDX explosive, which detonated when he made a call to his father.

Another theory suggests the blasts could be due to overheating lithium batteries inside the devices. While lithium batteries are prone to explosion when overheated or damaged, the likelihood of this occurring on such a massive and nearly simultaneous scale remains unclear.