I have a technical question that’s a bit of a sidetrack: I learned in this thread that pagers work independently from cell networks, I had always assumed they had a SIM card and worked that way. So how do the messages transmit? There must be some decentralized network, cell phones connect to cell towers, but what do pagers connect to?
Most pagers that aren’t 2 way pagers, don’t connect to anything. They are purely radio receivers that listen for a radio message from a dedicated radio transmitter somewhere.
Specifically, a different radio network than used by cell phone. Different frequencies and different communication protocols.
I remember reading that in the immediate aftermath of the World Trade Center attacks 23 years ago, pagers continued to work while cell phones did not, because of the different networks involved.
From the pager entry in Wikipedia:
In the United States, pagers typically receive signals using the FLEX protocol in the 900 MHz band. Commercial paging transmitters typically radiate 1000 watts of effective power, resulting in a much wider coverage area per tower than a mobile phone transmitter, which typically radiates around 0.6 watts per channel
No idea what is used in Lebanon.
Brian
So pagers work over terrestrial radio waves? How are messages authenticated, and what stations send the signals?
The injuries weren’t minor, a least not for hundreds of people. The medical services have not only reported 3-4 dozen dead but are using words like “amputations” and phrases like “lost at least one eye”. Those aren’t “minor”, they’re crippling and maiming.
Now, I am willing to agree with you that the mass attack with exploding pagers and other gear is not on part with a nuclear strike, but I very much think you’re wrong on the level of injury involved with the exploding gear.
That’s partly limitations on abilities - I don’t think Hezbollah has the means to engineer an attack of that sort.
I troubled that this attack seems to result in maiming rather than death or injuries that can be easily recovered from. If the primary result of this form of attack is blindness (as an example, given the reported eye injuries) then it could be considered a war crime. Not that anyone in that region seems to really care about that sort of thing.
It’s targeted, but it’s still terrifying because next time someone does this it might not be limited just one custom batch of an electronic item, or just to combatants.
Considering how tiny the amount of explosive that could be put inside a pager or walky-talky, it would have probably been difficult to engineer it to kill rather than merely maim. Injuries were the best the Mossad could achieve.
But yes, I wouldn’t put it past the Mossad to say, “Injuries are better than death, we want more PTSD.”
Yes, standard radio waves. The messages aren’t really authenticated. The message has a header code of some sort that individual pagers will respond to. There is also a broadcast mode that all pagers will respond to. The service that is running the pagers sets up a transmitter or transmitters. It is totally seperate hardware from other services.
In the end, maiming is more merciful than killing, is it not? A terrorist who lost a hand or an eye may no longer be able to shoot a gun, but they can still find gainful employment in a field other than terrorism.
The pager service provider operates a (or several) transmitters.
You log into their system and tell it to send a message. That message gets broadcast to every pager that is operated by that service provider. Your pager only gets the message sent to it because there is an ID at the beginning of the message. If you want your message to be secure, you need to encrypt it yourself.
The protocol is extremely primitive - it was developed 60 years ago, and hasn’t changed very much.
The company I work for still uses pager technology to talk to systems all over the country. It’s cheap and reliable. And, it has broadcast capability, so one message (Boom!?) can go to multiple devices, something that cell phones really don’t have (other than the new-ish emergency alter channels).
Then as now — albeit in far smaller numbers — pagers are used precisely because they are old school. They run on batteries and radio waves, making them impervious to dead zones without WiFi, basements without cell service, hackings and catastrophic network collapses such as those during the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Some medical professionals and emergency workers prefer pagers to cell phones or use the devices in combination. They’re handy for workers in remote locations, such as oil rigs and mines. Crowded restaurants use them, too, handing patrons blinking, hockey puck-like contraptions that vibrate when your table is ready.
To those who distrust data collection, pagers are appealing because they have no way to track users.
Not even for the independent contractors, just making a living?
And if they could, they’d put bombs in children’s toys and the like, not military equipment. Because their goal isn’t to reduce the Israeli army’s operational capacity, it is to terrorize Israel’s civilian population.
I mean, i guess those use pager technology, but it’s not what i think is when i think, “pager”. And i bet it’s not what Hezbollah was using
Thanks to all those who explained how those paging services work. 
Unless they had a super busy canteen. And even then, most of a restaurant’s supply of table pagers are usually on the charger, not in the hands of a customer.
To those concerned about civilians getting a hold of these pagers, here are some comforting words from checks notes Nasrallah, leader of Hezbollah:
Thanks, Nasrallah! I’m sorry to see you missed your message 
It would probably also have increased deaths and injuries among bystanders.
Pretty much the only way to ensure death with a pager or phone sized device is if you’re targeting a single individual and waiting till you know he’s making a call (so presumably you also tap the phone). Even then, you’d need a phone with no bluetooth or speaker capability (or maybe you turn them off remotely and when he picks up the phone and says “hello, can you hear me now?” - kaboom!).