The complexity and high levels of integration in the latest high speed systems leave the designer increasingly dependent on good development tools. The development tools that were adequate for earlier paging standards are now insufficient. Not only is there a need to become familiar with four-level frequency-shift keying (FSK) radio, but the level of software in the new-generation pagers is significantly larger than in POCSAG. The move toward high speed paging protocols presents new challenges to the designer. For the end user, the most visible benefit is the large improvements in power management, which enable the pager to operate much longer from a battery.
High speed paging protocols have a number of advantages over POCSAG for operators and users, especially when existing POCSAG system base station sites can be used, which minimizes operator investment. This rise in traffic increases pressure on operators to move to higher speed paging protocols. Operators now face a diminishing number of users per channel at a time when user numbers are rising, and no further frequency allocations for paging are likely.ĭemand also is driven by new marketing approaches, such as subscription-free services, which are becoming more popular. The introduction of alphanumeric messaging has increased the load on airtime significantly. Most current paging systems are based on the Post Office Code Standardization Advisory Group (POCSAG) protocol, which was designed originally for tone-only pagers and short numeric messages. This article examines solutions and approaches to the design of new pagers and explains the software tools, hardware platforms and semiconductor products that are becoming normal in this area. Roaming requirements present an added level of complexity.
Single-chip concepts, including decoding, controller tasks, level shifting, frequency synthesizer and memory, are becoming common. The semiconductor concepts for new pagers are developing rapidly toward even higher integration. The area of pager systems is changing with the introduction of new paging standards, particularly FLEX, in all worldwide markets.
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