It was a much larger, integrated, nationwide network. It's more comparable to compu-serv than any BBS.
It also had an integrated terminal that was way cheaper than the microcomputer + modem setup you needed to connect to any of the American services or BBSes, and as a result it had better market penetration in France.
Technically, of course, it wasn't anything special. But it was a great example of an early online service that was useable for non-technical people.
It had better market penetration because the terminals were free. FTA, they tried the same service in Ireland, without the subsidies, and market penetration was nil. It was a dismal failure.
One way it may have differed is commercially. The Minitel was a huge economic success generating > $1 billion/year of revenue and presaged the online commerce we see today. Monetization was a piece of cake as "sites" charged per minute. Companies like La Redoute made tons of money selling stuff "online". And, of course, there was plenty of porn. I still remember the suggestive billboard ads for the 3615 CUM -- or something like that.
it was run by the French government. And the hardware needed to access it was given away -- no general-purpose computer needed. And it achieved much higher penetration into the non-technical demographic than bbses ever did.
That's right. You could go to any post office, and they would give you a Minitel, for free. The main use of the Minitel was as a digital phonebook, that's why PTT (Poste, Téléphone et Télécommunications) was made responsible for distributing them. My dad still has one.
It was more about commercial services, and it provided integrated billing (users would get billed on their phone line, each site would set its time-based billing)
It also had an integrated terminal that was way cheaper than the microcomputer + modem setup you needed to connect to any of the American services or BBSes, and as a result it had better market penetration in France.
Technically, of course, it wasn't anything special. But it was a great example of an early online service that was useable for non-technical people.
EDIT: PS: The Computer Chronicles did an episode on Minitel: http://archive.org/details/frenchtech1