POSTER 2017, PRAGUE MAY 23 1 History of Telematics in France and its impact on hearing impaired people ZDENEK BUMBALEK 1 The Masaryk Institute of Advanced Studies, Czech Technical University in Prague, Kolejní 2637/2a, 160 00 Prague 6, Czech Republic [email protected] Abstract. Videotex represented by MINITEL terminals and lines. In connection with the expansion of the telephone service spread extensively especially in France. It was a network there is a search for new services and business predecessor of the today’s Internet. Originally it was models which would help to make the formation of the new supposed to serve as a substitute for the printed phone network profitable [1]. directory, but soon it developed into a sophisticated system The term “telematics” was first used for the idea of and in 1982 it already offered an analogue of email, information transfer via telephone network in 1978 in a timetables, ticket reservation, weather forecast and other governmental report dealing with computerization of services on home terminals which are provided by the public. The French word “télématique” is a connection of Internet today. It enabled the deaf to have a text-based two words “telecommunications” and “informatique”. conversation in real time via 3618 service called MINITEL Telematics was defines as a transfer of normalized data via Dialogue. With the support of France Telecom there was a network which the user can see on a terminal and interact relay service for deaf people launched in 1990 which with them. enabled its users to phone to the hearing majority through a hearing operator. Extensive spread of MINITEL had a Although there were many projects (for example negative impact on implementation of the internet in Prestel in UK, Bildschirmtext in Germany) and solutions in France as it was a strong competitor because of terminals the European scale which were supposed to provide which were given for free. The service was definitively telematics or videotext services, the only project which ended on 30 June 2012. proved to be viable in the long-term was French MINITEL. The main reason was not a better technical solution, but an innovative business model based on a “revenue share” principle where MINITEL videotext terminals were Keywords provided to French households for free and the whole ecosystem was funded from the sale of services provided Telematics, Videotex, MINITEL, hearing impaired by third parties via Teletel network [2]. people, history of French telecommunication. 1. Birth of telematics 2. MINITEL – „little french box“ 2. MINITEL – “A Little French Box” The idea of providing an “information system service” to the public appeared simultaneously in several In most of the countries the development of videotext places at the beginning of the 1970s. The 70s were defined solutions followed its own direction. Although a by economic crises and search for new opportunities. In standardization initiative of videotext networks was 1973 the western society was facing the first oil shock launched already in 1978, the final standard was adopted followed by the second oil shock in 1979. The first half of only in 1983 as a norm ANSI X3.110. However, national the 1970s is also a period of modernization in France and videotext networks based on their own propriety solutions mainly expansion of telephone network. For almost one had already been in full swing at that time. This largely century France suffered from insufficient facilities and limited further possibilities of network and services chronic malfunction of the telephone system. This situation expansion, as we know them from the Internet today, on an became a subject of jokes in the spirit of an amusing all-European or global scale. Fernand Reynaud’s sketch “le 22 à Asnières” where a half Videotext services had the biggest success in France of French were waiting for a call and the second half for a where during the eighties and nineties the MINITEL ringtone. In order to improve the situation the Directorate- terminal (Médium Interactif par Numérisation General of Telecommunications (DGT) headed by a new d´Information TÉLéphonique) became a common part of a general manager Gérard Théry, who came to this position majority of offices and many households. By 1999 around in 1974, approves a plan to establish “Delta LP” phone 2 Z. BUMBALEK, HISTORY OF TELEMATICS IN FRANCE AND ITS IMPACT ON HEARING IMPAIRED PEOPLE 9 million terminals had been installed and the network had pillar of the MINITEL’s success. Taking into consideration around 25 million users, which was more than a third of the that the price of a MINITEL terminal was between 500 to French population. 1000 franks it was a really courageous business strategy. At the birth of the huge MINITEL success there was Terminals were lent to users in exchange for an ambitious pilot project. French government wanted to abandoning the classic printed phone directory. The phone overcome two previous unsuccessful videotext platforms directory was available for free in the form of an online Tictac and Antiope. Therefore, it decided to fund a pilot service on MINITEL terminal (with a relatively project testing telematics in a large extent. As a part of sophisticated search system) which was obviously more research in Vélizy, a suburb of Paris, it launched a pilot practical and faster. From the moment when this topic was project Télétel 3V which in 1981 united 2500 users and initially discussed in DGT the free purchase of terminals 200 content suppliers under the patronage of was considered the key of success: the terminal must be for telecommunications [1]. free because it will replace a present service and the public would not understand who would benefit from them paying higher fees. 2.1 Technical background of MINITEL The computerization of the phone directory itself was MINITEL terminal (the name was originally used for significantly beneficial in terms of finance. Considering the the terminal itself, later it became a general term for seven million lines which were created between 1974 and videotext services) constituted a visible part of Teletel 1979, the paper directory became an anachronism before it service which was provided by French Télécom. MINITEL was even finished. It meant a significant increase in was composed of a small and cheap 9” large screen with production costs culminating to 120 million francs in 1979. 320x240 pixels resolution and an integrated keyboard. The Another 7 million of lines were supposed to be created screen was able to display 25 lines of 40 videotexts between 1979 and 1984. Paper consumption rose up from (alphameric or semigraphic) or of 80 ISO signs. MINITEL 20,000 tons in 1979 to 100,000 tons in 1985. In 1978 the included a modem (originally 1200 b/s later 9600 b/s) and state administration published 16 million of directories could be plugged directly into a phone plug. An external which cost 307 million francs with a profit of 370 million printer for printing a screen copy could be connected to francs of which 67 % went to an advertising agency MINITEL. Later models included a memory card reader administering advertisements published in the directories. which served for providing secured financial transactions This waste of funds for updating the directory, its and could display black and white photographs in 64 impracticality when it comes to a fast search of a number, shades of grey colour. There were also combined machines and impossibility to get an access to numbers within all with a phone device. France provided fertile ground for MINITEL expansion. Innovation of the MINITEL business model was based on the originality of its invoice system and on implementing the Kiosque system. Kiosque brought transparent and user-clear tariff setting which was very profitable for the state administration and content suppliers. This system relieved suppliers from the accounting burden and included an additional payment for using the services directly in the subscriber’s phone bill. Created in 1983 and brought to life in 1984, Kiosque became a crucial factor of MINITEL’s success. The key invoicing factor in France remained to be the state administration, which simplified the service supply. On average a service supplier received 60% of the Fig. 1. Teletel service access diagram [4]. amount paid by a MINITEL user and DGT 40%. The second crucial idea was tariff setting according to levels. 2.2 Business model of MINITEL The time spent on using the service was charged according to a rate per minute. This allowed defining price per hour While in France MINITEL became a national according to “service codes” from the least costly (a phenomenon which united the whole nation via a computer service with 3611 code in the phone directory offered first network ten years before the Internet appeared, similar three minutes for free) to more expensive ones (services projects failed in many other countries. The reason why intended for professionals, e.g. service no. 3617) [3]. MINITEL was so successful was its business model built on two pillars. The first pillar was based on funding terminals from the Directorate-General of Telecommunications and giving them for free to the end users. The aim was to create a strong user base to sell other services mainly via third parties which formed the second POSTER 2017, PRAGUE MAY 23 3 Bank services also found their supporters in MINITEL. Numerous bank houses were developing their customer services such as possibility to check accounts, make transactions or gamble on the Stock Exchange. Banque de la Cité offered the first bank service from home to its private clients already in 1985. For the first time clients received not only a bank statement, but also an electronic account balance for the last six months.