Minitel

Minitel 1B

The Minitel, officially known as Télétel, was a videotex online service accessible through telephone lines.

Videotex is a modified interactive version of the Teletext protocol that existed in TV broadcast.

Launched commercially in 1982, it was the world's first and most successful mass-market online service prior to the World Wide Web.

In the United States, there was a stalled attempt by USWest to bring this service to two test markets: Minneapolis and Omaha. Source

Amstrad CPC services

In the CPC era, multiple services existed to download games for the Amstrad CPC via Minitel, like 3615 AMCHARGE and 3615 MICROCHARGE.

The Minitel can still be used today to access your Amstrad news.