Minitel
1982-2000
Minitel can best be described as a French version of the Internet before the Internet existed. Minitel was a great success both technologically and commercially. In 1999, half of France used the service for booking travel, banking, ecommerce and email. And for erotic services, of course.
Minitel’s failure is that it was too good - its success and popularity delayed France’s transition to the Internet by a decade. Minitel was isolated and regulated while the internet was open and free. While the rest of the world invested heavily in the internet, France dismissed it as an American invention and stuck with its obsolete technology.
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