PageStar Recovery Service for Stolen Cars Expands

PageStar Inc., a company that two months ago unveiled an automobile theft recovery system, said Thursday its service will soon be available nationwide as part of an agreement with PageNet Inc., one of the country’s largest electronic paging companies.

PageStar has developed a system that tracks stolen vehicles using satellite signals, but is also able to disable a car through a mechanism triggered by an electronic page, identical to the paging signals that million of people rely on to get messages.

PageNet, a Dallas-based company with more than 9 million subscribers, will provide the paging equipment and transmitters. In return, the company will get a portion of the $12 monthly fee that PageStar vehicle tracking customers pay.

Alex McClure, director of information technology at PageStar, said the system is expected to be available beginning next month. He said that in addition to the monthly fee, subscribers will have to pay a one-time installation charge ranging from $400 to $1,000, depending on the level of service.

PageStar says its system, called StarTrak, can bring a stolen car to a gradual stop by turning the car on and off. The system also pages the owner and tells the thief that police are tracking the vehicle.