RIP: Scandinavia kills the pager

But the Brits still cherish theirs...

Paging is about to become extinct in Scandinavia while the Brits keep the paging service alive. Norwegian telco Telenor announced it will stop offering paging services from September 2003. A Telenor spokesman said: "Demand is diminishing and mobile phones have taken over the functions of the pager." Operators in both Denmark and Finland have also said they will terminate the service. However, the pager still serves a purpose in the UK. A Vodafone spokeswoman told silicon.com: " There is a niche market for pagers in the UK, especially within emergency services." But she admitted the service is not developing in the same way as some of Vodafone's "newer offerings". A spokesman from the Radiocommunications Agency said it is still receiving applications for paging licences although he was unable to confirm whether the numbers are dropping. "As far as we're concerned, there aren't any plans to discontinue pagers," he said.