MASSOUD@auvm.bitnet (NADIM MASSOUD) (11/13/90)
Hi, I was wondering why there isn't (or is there?) a way to find a person's telephone number in the USA, by calling via modem. In France, any Minitel terminal owner (the terminal is free) can do this, with a variety of options in the search. Does anyone know if this is planned or already exists? I also would apreciate any comments about the future of Minitel in the USA. A Minitel is a videotext terminal. A regular minitel works at 1200/75 bau ds, and anyone with a phone can have on free in France. There are a few Minitel services in the USA ... emulations exist for various micros. [Moderato's Note: Actually, there are a few telco operated programs like this in the USA, but they seem to be few and far between. Illinois Bell has a service called 'Directory Express' which is like what you described above. It is tariffed for business customers, and at present has only a few. Primarily heavy users of directory assistance are interested, since the service costs quite a bit per hour of use monthly. PAT]