日本将于明年正式终结寻呼机业务

Japan's last pager provider has announced it will end its service in September 2019 -- bringing a national end to telecommunication beepers.

日本最后一家寻呼机服务商宣布将于2019年9月停止服务，这意味着寻呼机在日本将成历史。

Around 1,500 users remain subscribed to Tokyo Telemessage, which has not made the devices in 20 years.

东京电信通信公司目前仍有约1500名寻呼机用户，而该公司在20年前就已经停止生产寻呼机。

The once-popular devices are able to receive and show wireless messages. Users would then find a phone to call the sender back.

寻呼机曾风靡一时，它可以接收和显示无线信息。使用者在收到信息后，可以给发送者回电话。

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Developed in the 1950s and 1960s, they grew in popularity in the 1980s.

寻呼机始于上世纪五六十年代，八十年代开始流行。

By 1996, Tokyo Telemessage had 1.2 million subscribers.

1996年，东京电信通信公司拥有120万寻呼机用户。

However, the rise of mobile phones rendered the pager obsolete, and few remain worldwide.

然而，手机的兴起使寻呼机遭到淘汰，目前全球已很少有人使用。

Emergency services, however, continue to use the reliable technology -- including in the UK.

不过应急服务部门仍在继续使用这种可靠的技术--包括在英国。