There was rather a lot of competition between Minitel and the UK's Prestel, with Prestel having an initial four-year head start. The competition was so great t

There was rather a lot of competition between Minitel and the UK's Prestel, with Prestel having an initial four-year head start. The competition was so great that when the Brits rocked up at a French trade show in the early 80s, the French organisers pulled the power to their stand, or that's how the story goes.. In any case, sadly Prestel wasn't quite as successful as Minitel in the end. Perhaps the UK concentrated more on getting out Micros like the BBC and promoting computer literacy instead.