Infotel
The Infotel was a videotex online service accessible through telephone lines, active in Gylias during the 1980s. It was introduced by Gylian Post and Telecommunications in 1980.
It is considered an important precursor to the internet in Gylias, but its success was also hampered by the wretched decade. Starting in the 1990s, the Mathilde Vieira government pushed for the transfer of the Infotel network on to the broader Gylian internet, and the service was retired in 2012.
History
Infotel was developed by P&T, drawing on contemporary developments in computer technology. It was first rolled out experimentally in 1980, and then introduced nationwide in 1982.
By 1988, the service had 3 million terminals, and about 6.000 services available. It was made available for all telephone users in Gylias through the P&T's monopoly.
A transition towards home computers and the internet in the 1990s led the Mathilde Vieira government to adopt a policy of migrating the Infotel onto the larger internet. Access to the network was made possible for computers through the internet, and Infotel services and directories began to be moved there.
The service still had around 8 million users in 1999, but by this time it was already undergoing a managed decline. It was retired completely by P&T in 2012.
Technology
The Infotel used computer terminals, which consisted of a screen, a keyboard, and modem, packaged into a single tabletop unit. They had a resolution of 480 × 250 pixels, and could display primitive graphics using semigraphics methods. The modem used asymmetric data transmission, with fast downloads and slower uploads for the time.
Finances
Infotel charged an hourly fee for access to pages, which was automatically collected by P&T and included on the monthly telephone bill. Purchases could be made through credit cards.
Services
Infotel services were provided by numerous existing companies. These included: free phone directory, information services, databases, message boards, online dating services, computer games, mail-order retail companies, and GNRTS and Gyliair ticket purchases.
The most popular services were the phone directory, games, and electronic messaging. Sex workers and pornographers gained notable popularity on the platform, using it for direct contact and payment with customers. Their section of the Infotel was popularly nicknamed Sextel, and the adult chat services were nicknamed messageries roses ("pink messages").
Elections Gylias notably used Infotel to release election results, including for the 1985 federal election, 1986 presidential election, and the decade's municipal and regional elections.
Legacy
Infotel became very popular and well-used in Gylias, helped by free provision of easy-to-use terminals through P&T and popular services. It is considered a significant predecessor of the Gylian internet, and thus influential on the Gylian internet's participatory ethos and cyberculture, much of which remained intact as it migrated to the broader internet due to the focus on retaining technological sovereignty.
At the same time, the Infotel's difficulties are seen as a reflection of the wretched decade; several technology commentators in the 1990s expressed the fear that the Infotel's lagging capabilities compared to home computers symbolised a loss of technological edge due to the decade's economic crisis.