Arch Nationwide Paging says it has built a nationwide paging network without constructing one.
Last fall, Arch announced its intention to offer paging service in every major U.S. city by using other carriers’ existing infrastructure and the company’s proprietary software. The company says it has made significant progress toward that goal. Arch Nationwide is a wholly owned subsidiary of Arch Communications Group, based in Westborough, Mass.
“We have proprietary software that allows us to interconnect with affiliate companies,” said Ron Lipof, president of Arch Nationwide. Since Arch hasn’t had to invest in infrastructure, the company believes it can offer nationwide paging for less money than competitors.
“We put together a network of affiliates. We just dial them up, send the proprietary protocols and get full use of their networks,” Lipof said.
Thus far, a core of 18 carriers have signed up for the service. Some are small and some are large, such as GTE Corp., The Westlink Co., a start-up company formed to buy U S West Inc.’s paging business, McCaw Paging and Dial Page Inc.
Arch Nationwide now has access to more than 2,000 transmitters, “more than our largest competitor,” according to Lipof.
Local paging carriers who sign with Arch can market the paging service as their own, which may be an advantage in today’s competitive market. “We allow them to private label the service when they resell it. Carriers don’t need to call it Arch Nationwide,” Lipof noted. “And anyone in the country can sell our services, not just those who make up the network,” he added.
Subscribers to Arch’s nationwide service must use a Motorola Inc. Bravo Plus scanning pager to scan VHF frequencies for pages when traveling outside their own market. The pager costs less than $100 and scans multiple frequencies in a given band, Lipof explained. “So we don’t need a single frequency anywhere.”
Arch Nationwide can supply subscribers with a toll-free 800, one-number system that has a variety of enhancements such as CallConnect, DemandFax and DirectCall. The subscribers can receive “call waiting” telephone messages, can direct incoming facsimiles to the machine of choice and can listen to voice mail. Other options include a live answering service as well as a “locate the subscriber” service.
Airtime may run $12.95 to $14.95 per month, with enhanced services costing a little more, Lipof said.