Pager service ends in Japan

Oct 01 (NHK) - The last remaining pager service in Japan is being terminated on Monday.

The first pager service was launched in Japan in 1968. The number of subscribers peaked in 1996 at more than 10 million.

Young people liked to send messages using numbers. For example, "0840" could be read as "ohayo," or "good morning."

Tokyo Telemessage, the only pager service provider in Japan, says the number of users in the Tokyo metropolitan area had declined to less than 1,500.

The company says the frequencies allocated for pagers will be used by local governments for their disaster radio services.

Source: ANNnewsCH

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