France Telecom, IBM to reveal Internet pact-sources
Reuters, Monday, October 05, 1998 at 21:32
NEW YORK, Oct 5 (Reuters) - France Telecom (SBF:FTE) and IBM
(NYSE:IBM) are set to unveil a deal on Tuesday that calls for IBM
to help upgrade Minitel, a French electronic commerce network
that was a forerunner of the commercial Internet, industry
sources said.
Sources said an announcement is scheduled to occur after
the close of trading on the Paris bourse at 1500 GMT on Tuesday
at which officials of France Telecom will appear along with
Louis Gerstner, chairman and chief executive of International
Business Machines Corp.
Further details were not immediately available.
Spokesmen at IBM and for France Telecom in the United
States declined to comment. Officials at the parent France
Telecom were not immediately available to comment.
The Minitel, a teletext terminal connected to the French
telephone network, grew rapidly in the 1980s because it was
simple to install and use. Its popularity soared after a
government giveaway of special terminals required to access the
system.
At last count, Minitel had roughly 17 million users. The
system has evolved into a labyrinth of 25,000 databases
containing a wealth of services like phone directories, train
schedules, weather reports and bill-payment schemes.
Due largely to the success of Minitel in France, the
country has been slow among European nations to welcome the
free-wheeling Internet. Compared to the Internet, the Minitel
network functions essentially as a closed loop of databases.
Yet in spite of Minitel's antiquated database navigation
software, it has retained a wide following among consumers who
value the system for its electronic bill-payment features, an
electronic commerce capability that has been slow to develop on
the Internet due to ongoing security and privacy concerns.
Over the years, improved versions of the Minitel appliances
have been sold commercially through France Telecom retail
outlets. These devices accept payments via smartcards, for
example.
Francophones also appeared to have favored the older
French-language system of Minitel menus in contrast to Internet
browsers, where English is the lingua franca.
But recently, French business and political leaders have
sought to counter this technological isolation out of fear of
being bypassed as the world economy has quickly moved to
embrace the World Wide Web.
A U.S. online industry consultant noted that IBM has worked
closely with Minitel for years, although the system has also
relied heavily on French computer firms such as Group Bull
(SBF:BULP) for computer services and equipment.
Copyright 1998, Reuters News Service |
