Minitel
French videotex service / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Minitel was a videotex online service accessible through telephone lines, and was the world's most successful online service prior to the World Wide Web. It was invented in Cesson-Sévigné, near Rennes, Brittany, France.
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Developer | Postes, Télégraphes et Téléphones |
---|---|
Type | Videotex |
Launch date | 1982; 42 years ago (1982) |
Discontinued | 30 June 2012; 11 years ago (30 June 2012) |
Platform(s) | Minitel |
Status | Discontinued |
Members | 10 million monthly connections (2009) |
The service was rolled out experimentally on 15 July 1980[1] in Saint-Malo, France, and from autumn 1980 in other areas. It was introduced commercially throughout France in 1982 by the PTT (Postes, Télégraphes et Téléphones; divided since 1991 between France Télécom and La Poste).[2] From its early days, users could make online purchases, make train reservations, information services for business, search the telephone directory, have a mail box, and chat in a similar way to what is now made possible by the World Wide Web.
In February 2009, France Télécom indicated the Minitel network still had 10 million monthly connections. France Télécom retired the service on 30 June 2012.[2][3][4]