The existing paging infrastructure is used to send commands to operate remotely-located electronic or mechanical devices. A paging message containing one or more pre-set commands, trigger signals, or command strings is received by a paging receiver into an optional signal buffer which provides the received message to a message compare function. The message compare matches each component of the message to a set of one or more allowed commands and sends at least one signal or command that causes the action specified by the received message contents to take place at the target device. The command may be a signal for triggering an electronic or mechanical action, or may be a command that causes an operation to be performed in a software-controlled component of the target device. An alternate embodiment allows responses generated by the system and/or the target device to be forwarded back to the initiator via a two-way paging transceiver. The target device either has the capability of generating one or more signals or other messages in response to the commands received, or the system has the capability of sensing the state of the target device after receipt of the commands. Responses generated by the target device may be sent to the optional signal buffer or directly to the paging transceiver, or may be received and modified by a response generation function that is part of the system. Responses may be relayed either at the completion of the execution of all the received commands or after the execution of any of the commands in a multi-command sequence, providing feedback to the initiator as the command sequence is processed. The initiator may also receive an indication of the success or failure of the entire sequence of operations, or may receive data or other information produced or collected by the target device.