European countries are preparing to substitute teletext for telex by early next year, according to U.S. communications industry representatives who have just returned from consultations with their European counterparts. Over 10,000 telex machines are currently in use in Europe.
In the U.S., the development of teletext, or the use of the television frequency spectrum to broadcast messages to customer terminals, has not been developing as quickly, if at all. Just last week, the Federal Communications Commission refused to open an inquiry into standards for protocols and display formats for teletext and videotex. (Videotex involves the two-way use of land based cable links, such as cable TV or telephone lines.) The FCC said it would not interfere by setting standards, opting instead for "an open environment approach" which currently pits the three major teletext/videotex producers against each other in the U.S. market.
In contrast, the Europeans with their centralized public telecommunications networks and administration are capable of handling voice, data, conferencing and facsimile communications over one network line instead of using a multiplicity of lines as in the U.S.
