A teleprinter is an electromechanical typewriter that can be used to send and receive typed messages. The teleprinter can be arranged so that the typed messages can originate from point to point or point to multiple point networks using a variety of communication channels. Teleprinters were used to provide a simple user interface to interact with mainframe computers and minicomputers from the late 1930s to the early 1970s. They sent typed data to the mainframe computer and received printed responses from it.

The next stage in the electronic technology evolution of the teleprinter was the pager. A pager (commonly known as a beeper) is a wireless electronic communication device that receives and displays alphanumeric text messages. There are two commonly known pagers used for electronic wireless communication—one-way pagers and two-way pagers. One-way pagers can only receive messages,...