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Easy, open access to services:
Users can access servics without having to take out a subscription. Minitel is an easy-
to-use, dedicated, and inexpensive terminal for mass distribution.
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Centralized invoicing and collection are handled by France Telecom and not by the
service providers. The charges appear on the regular telephone bill as "minitel use"
with no reference whatsoever as to what specific service was used. This protects the
anonymity of the users, that it does not require passwords or payments in advance and
allows service providers to minimize management costs and concentrate on the job of
creating services.
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Terminal design revolutionary for the time, consisting of a screen and alphanumeric
keyboard that are cheap to produce and very easy to use.
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Implementation of a key service, the electronic directory, which satisfies an obvious
requirement of telephone users. It played a crucial role in familiarizing users with
screen-keyboard techniques and helping service providers design their own services.
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A clearly defined partnership with service providers, based on an appropriate
separate of roles and giving them the editorial freedom they need to develop new
services, all within a flexible legal framework developed on a gradual basis by the
industry. In addition, identification of needs, joint analysis and experimentation have
allowed extension of the functions provided on the network and in the terminals.
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