WASHINGTON, D.C.-The paging industry grew 38 percent in 1994, adding 7.5 million subscribers for a new total of 27.3 million users at year end, according to a new market study from Economic and Management Consultants International Inc.
In “The State of the U.S. Paging Industry: 1995,” EMCI said falling equipment and service prices are playing a key role in paging’s increasing popularity among business and consumer segments. The industry’s 1994 average revenue for digital display rental pagers was $13.10 per month, a decrease from $14.20 per month in 1993, the company said. EMCI expects pager revenues to stabilize in the next several years due to further consolidation within the industry.
During 1994, digital display units continued their dominance as the most popular type of pager, accounting for about 87 percent of all pagers in service, the company said. Alphanumeric pagers remained stable at seven percent in 1994, but EMCI projected they will increase to nine percent of all pagers in service by 1995. Tone/voice and tone-only pagers accounted for only three percent and two percent of the market, respectively.
Overall, the company expects paging to continue to experience high growth rates in the future, due in large part to rapid acceptance by the consumer market and implementation of narrowband personal communications services advanced messaging services such as two-way, acknowledgement and digital voice paging as well as advanced data applications.
