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Definition: Minitel


An online service of France Telecom that was used to look up phone numbers, pay bills, purchase merchandise and chat. Starting in 1979, the text-based terminals were freely distributed, and access to the services, known as the Teletel network, was based on telephone time and service provider fees. Because it was advanced for its time and simple to use, Minitel became widespread and thousands of services were offered. Even after the Web, Minitel survived with more than 15 million users at the turn of the century. New services were added, but it was officially closed in 2012. See videotex.