I think most people never realised that you could access many minitel type services from a telex machine.
Using something like a BT Cheetah telex it was possible to log into the prototype internet (pre HTML: all text driven) and access online databases such as STN. It was slow, but quicker than the alternative of hooking up a very basic early computer via a 9600baud modem and dodgy phone line.
Only problem was cost - at so much per character a long report could be expensive, and Ihats where the French, for a few years, won out