This story on the BBC website reminded me of the clunky old Beltel which Telkom SA rolled out as a predecessor to the internet. I remember being very impressed by Minitel on visits to France, and when I worked there we even had one in the office. At the time I never knew why my colleague spent hours 'checking his bank accounts' with a rapturous expression on his face, but I now realise he was probably looking at 3615 CUM or something similar.
Clearing out a friend's garage a year or so ago, I even found one of the old instruments.
BBC News - Minitel: The rise and fall of the France-wide web
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