Departmental Paging Service for Faculty and Staff

The Office of Telecommunications at Miami University offers paging services to University departments through Arch Communications. The University has a contract with Arch for paging services on the campus, providing local, statewide and nationwide paging services. All individual department contracts with Arch have been combined into the major account contract administered for Miami University by the Office of Telecommunications. Alphanumeric and digital pagers are offered for rental to departments for staff use.

Local Coverage

The standard coverage area for Miami University provided pagers is the Cincinnati / Oxford / Hamilton / Middletown area. Some coverage into the eastern edge of Indiana and the northern edge of Kentucky is included, as well as partial coverage of Dayton. If needed, this coverage can be expanded to include all areas covered by Arch in the state of Ohio. Nationwide coverage is available at a significant additional cost per month. Pagers assigned on the Oxford and Hamilton campuses are assigned Hamilton exchange phone numbers, allowing them to be called locally from Oxford and Cincinnati. Pagers assigned to the Middletown campus are assigned Middletown exchange phone numbers.

Coverage Changes

Arch paging is changing the supported frequencies in their network. Miami University has been using a 158 Mhz frequency, which provided the best overall coverage on our campuses. This frequency is being phased out, and replaced with a 900 Mhz frequency. The Office of Telecommunications is in the process of exchanging all University-supplied pagers with new units, which are programmed for this new frequency. A representative from our office will contact each department and arrange the replacement of the pagers. Coverage for the 158 Mhz pagers is still supported in the southwestern parts of Ohio, with reduced coverage in Indiana, Kentucky, and the east side of Cincinnati. We have verified that coverage is still in place on all three campuses.

Nationwide Coverage

Nationwide pagers have specific advantages and limitations. The nationwide pagers do not use the same system as the basic pagers, and the coverage areas differ. We have found that the coverage is best near metropolitan areas and can be subject to dropout farther from major cities. We have had a few cases where nationwide pagers have not worked well in some parts of the Oxford campus. As such, we recommend careful consideration of the need for a nationwide pager beyond the consideration of the additional cost. Nationwide digital pagers cost $29.00 per month and nationwide alphanumeric pagers cost $39.00 per month.

How do I order pagers for my department?

Send a memo to the Office of Telecommunications, 200 Robertson Hall or e-mail at Telecommunications@muohio.edu. You will need to have the following information:

• Pager type (alphanumeric or digital)
• The name(s) of the person(s) for whom you are requesting pagers
• The account code you wish to have billed for the monthly pager rental, with permission from the authorized person for that account
• Your department's name, and the name and telephone number of the contact person for the pagers
• If you are requesting an alphanumeric pager, indicate whether you want Datacast service.

Billing

Pagers are billed monthly through the Office of Telecommunications. Basic service for a pager costs $3.50 per month for a digital (numeric) pager, $4.50 per month for alphanumeric. Statewide coverage is available at no extra charge. Departments will see the costs for their pagers on their regular monthly telephone bill, listed with the name of the person using the pager. Additional charges for lost pagers are also billed through us. For questions about your pager bill, please contact us at 9-3511.

Lost or Damaged Pagers

Lost pagers are billed to the department at a cost of $50 for digital, $75 for alphanumeric. Damaged pagers can be exchanged at the Office of Telecommunications at no charge. Please call before bringing the damaged pager, as we have a limited supply of spare units.