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|
 Minitel 1, built in 1982 | |
| Developer | Postes, Télégraphes et Téléphones |
|---|---|
| Type | Videotex |
| Launch date | 1982 |
| Discontinued | 30 June 2012 |
| Platform(s) | Minitel |
| Status | Discontinued |
| Members | 10 million monthly connections (2009) |
The Minitel, officially known as TELETEL, was an interactive videotex online service accessible through telephone lines. It was the world's first and most successful mass-market online service prior to the World Wide Web.[1] It was developed in Cesson-Sévigné, Brittany by government-owned France Télécom.[2]
The service was initially launched on an experimental basis on 15 July 1980 in Saint-Malo and extended to other regions in autumn 1980.[3] It was commercially introduced throughout France in 1982 by the PTT (Postes, Télégraphes et Téléphones; since 1991, divided into France Télécom and La Poste).[4] From its inception, users were able to make online purchases, book train tickets, access business information services, search the telephone directory, maintain a mailbox, and utilize chat functionalities similar to those now supported by the World Wide Web.
In February 2009, France Télécom reported that the Minitel network still maintained 10 million monthly connections. The service was discontinued by France Télécom on 30 June 2012.[4][5][6]
- ^ Weber, Marc (2016). "Self-Fulfilling History: How Narrative Shapes Preservation of the Online World". Information & Culture: A Journal of History. 51 (1): 54–80. doi:10.1353/lac.2016.0003. ISSN 2166-3033.
- ^ Maital, Shlomo (1992). "The Global Telecommunications Picture: Is America Being Outstripped? By France?". The Brookings Review. 10 (3): 40–43. doi:10.2307/20080317. ISSN 0745-1253.
- ^ Puech, Michel (20 June 2010). "Le monde du Minitel se paye Le Monde" [The world of Minitel pays for 'Le Monde' (A wordplay: the newspaper 'Le Monde' translates as 'The World'.)]. Mediapart (in French). Archived from the original on 2 August 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
- ^ a b "Minitel: The rise and fall of the France-wide web" Archived 10 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Hugh Schofield, BBC News Magazine (Paris), 27 June 2012.
- ^ "Le Minitel disparaîtra en juin 2012" [Minitel will disappear in June 2012]. Le Figaro (in French). Agence France Presse. 21 July 2011. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2011. English translation Archived 18 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine)
- ^ Lichfield, John (9 June 2012). "How France Fell Out of Love with Minitel". The Independent. Archived from the original on 15 May 2022.