NEWS PageNet tests paging service where person sending message pays
PageNet, Dallas, is test-marketing Value Page, a service that allows pager owners to avoid monthly service charges. With ValuePage, the person sending a page, rather than the pager user, pays for service. PageNet is testing the service in Chicago, Detroit and Indianapolis. Value Page is made possible by an agreement between PageNet and Ameritech. Ameritech logs all calls to Value Page pagers from its phones during the month and bills its customers through their regular monthly invoices. When an individual places a call to the subscriber’s pager number, a voice message alerts the caller that he or she will be charged a small fee–generally 35 cents or less–on the callers’s telephone bill. Ameritech shares the revenue with PageNet, allowing PageNet to offer pager service at no cost to pager users.