• silicon.com
• Technology
• Networks

By Julian Goldsmith, 7 October 1998 18:00

NEWS France Telecom has announced a partnership with IBM France to develop Internet software and services for easy access to the Web. The strategy is designed to attract French users who are fiercely loyal to the existing proprietary online service Minitel. Analysts say the two companies have set themselves a hard task, as Minitel is much more secure than the Net and is regularly used by 35 million people for ecommerce services like train and plane ticket purchasing. The Internet is only used by 4 per cent of the population. A spokesman for France Telecom explained that although Minitel is widely used in France, users are missing out on online services from the outside world. He pointed out that by choosing to develop a platform based on screen phones and other mobile devices, the two companies hope to capture regular users of Minitel who do not own a PC. "Our job is to promote the advantages of the Internet [over Minitel] to service providers and users," he said. "Perhaps there will be resistance at first, but we will help content providers with an Internet business model and make them aware of the global commerce opportunities it can provide." However, Daniel Bieler, Internet consultant for Ovum, is certain of the venture's eventual success: "France Telecom has been forced to see the inevitability of the Internet and is looking forward to carrying the advanced services that Minitel cannot provide. I think that the French will be driven to Internet use by businesses, which demand international information. In the next five years, 50 per cent of Minitel's market will have migrated to the Net." But Bieler added that there would be a lot of short-term resistance to change. "Companies involved in Minitel can see no gain in opening their market up to Internet service and content providers," he said.