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A teleprinter with a beige plastic cover. On the left was a perforated tape feeder, and on top was the paper feeder. In front was the control in a green background, sporting the control buttons and a (Greek & Latin ) keyboard. The French teleprinter network came into use in 1946. In 1949, the company SAGEM (Company of General Applications of Electricity and Mechanics ) introduced the first electromechanical teleprinter SP5. By the end of 1977, the French telex network went from 9.000 subscribers in 1965 to 66.000. It served the state communications services ( prefectures, military services, embassies, etc. ), companies and press agencies. The storage of messages was not possible then as it is now with the digital information. The recordings were made with a system of 5 perforations on a paper tape for code 5-bit. The 5 bits gave only 32 combinations. The interchange of letters and figures characters and punctuation marks was done by two keys. The perforated tape came out from a special side opening. The transmission of messages was possible in two ways: by inserting the perforated tape in the opening on the right side of the device or by typing the message. The transmission speed was 50 baud.