Ok, I'll ask the obvious question then. Why can't you do this with SMTP?
Specifically, if you want to send a page:
1. Construct an e-mail message addressed to
"pager(_at_)n(_dot_)u(_dot_)m(_dot_)b(_dot_)e(_dot_)r(_dot_)suffix",
e.g., you want to page +1-415-555-1234, address it to
pager(_at_)4(_dot_)3(_dot_)2(_dot_)1(_dot_)5(_dot_)5(_dot_)5(_dot_)5(_dot_)1(_dot_)4(_dot_)1(_dot_)page(_dot_)net
2. Put the "text of the page" in the body of the message
3. Send it as a regular e-mail message and let the DNS route it using MXs.
Right now, we do this for facsimile transmissions in the Internet. If I
want to fax to +1-415-968-2510, I send to
remote-printer(_dot_)marshall_rose(_at_)0(_dot_)1(_dot_)5(_dot_)2(_dot_)8(_dot_)6(_dot_)9(_dot_)5(_dot_)1(_dot_)4(_dot_)1(_dot_)tpc(_dot_)int
The pager case is even simpler cause a pager is (usually) carried by one
person.
So, how to make this work:
1. Get someone to apply for, and then manage in a fair-and-open manner,
a high-level domain.
2. Tell the pager providers that if they had an SMTP connectivity to the
Internet, then they could get pages that way.
/mtr