Initel

Initel, commonly known as Minitel, was a nationwide videotex online service operated by France Télécom (formerly PTT) in France. Launched in 1982, it provided interactive information and commercial services via dial-up terminals connected to the public telephone network. Terminals were distributed to households, businesses, and public locations, and presented information on a text-based 40-column display. Services were accessed by typing search terms or numeric codes, and pages were delivered as easy-to-navigate screens built from a centralized database.

Minitel offered directory assistance (Pages Jaunes, Pages Blanches), classifieds, travel and leisure reservations, banking and e-commerce, public services, and a growing ecosystem of third-party services. It is credited as one of the world's most successful pre-Internet online networks, with millions of terminals at its peak and thousands of service providers.

Technology and model: A closed videotex network; content was stored on central servers; data transmission occurred over the public telephone network; the system used simple navigation tools and pages updated by providers, designed for a 40-column display and text-based interaction. The service supported a wide range of information and commercial offerings, from government forms to consumer purchases.

Decline and legacy: With the rise of the Internet and mobile networks in the late 1990s and 2000s, Minitel declined as users moved online. The network remained in operation for years with ongoing updates but was gradually phased out during the 2010s. Minitel is widely regarded as a pioneering digital service and a precursor to online commerce in Europe, notable for its large installed base and early consumer-facing e-services.