Infonie

Infonie was a French Internet service provider (ISP) founded in October 1995 by Christophe Sapet, operating under the umbrella of the video game company Infogrames. It was chronologically one of the first French ISPs, sharing the early French market with Worldnet and the American providers AOL and CompuServe. Infonie targeted a family audience and aimed to offer a bouquet of services within a closed, proprietary environment called "Ladybird." Access to the open Web was almost secondary to this curated experience, but the rapid success of Internet websites soon overshadowed the walled-garden model. The service included an online chat tool called "talkie," an early form of instant messaging. In October 1998, Infonie acquired the search engine Lokace. In 2000, Infonie was bought by the Belgian telecom operator Belgacom. In 2001, Belgacom sold Infonie (except its Belgian operations) to Tiscali; by then Infonie was heavily in debt. Tiscali retained only the name, the subscribers, and the email addresses containing "@infonie." Tiscali France eventually disappeared in 2005, its assets passing to Alice through a purchase by Telecom Italia. Alice itself was later acquired by Iliad and integrated into Free. Infonie thus represents an early chapter in French Internet history, from the pioneering days of proprietary online services to the consolidation of the ISP market.

Infonie was created in October 1995 by Christophe Sapet under the aegis of Infogrames, the French video game publisher. It was one of the first French Internet service providers, appearing alongside Worldnet and competing with American giants AOL and CompuServe. The service was designed for a family audience and sought to provide a bouquet of services within a closed, proprietary environment called "Ladybird." Access to the open Web was almost an afterthought, but the success of Internet websites soon made the walled-garden approach less relevant. The offering included an online chat tool called "talkie," an early instant messaging system. In October 1998, Infonie acquired the search engine Lokace. In 2000, Infonie was purchased by Belgacom, the Belgian telecommunications operator. In 2001, Belgacom sold Infonie (excluding its Belgian operations) to Tiscali; by that time Infonie was heavily indebted. Tiscali kept only the name, the subscribers, and the email addresses containing "@infonie." Tiscali France eventually disappeared in 2005, its assets passing to Alice through a purchase by Telecom Italia. Alice was later acquired by Iliad and integrated into Free. Infonie thus traces the arc of the early French Internet market from proprietary online services to consolidation.

• Founded in October 1995 by Christophe Sapet under Infogrames.

• Acquired search engine Lokace in October 1998.

• Acquired by Belgacom in 2000.

• Sold by Belgacom (except Belgium) to Tiscali in 2001.

• Tiscali France disappeared in 2005, assets to Alice via Telecom Italia.

• Alice later acquired by Iliad and integrated into Free.

Family-oriented, closed online service environment

• Ladybird proprietary interface

• Talkie instant messaging

• Lokace search engine

1. 1Infonie - Wikipediafr.wikipedia.org
2. 2Infonie - Wikidatawikidata.org
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