Operator TDF is a nationwide paging system launched in 1987 by TDF subsidiary TDF Radio Services. Initially deployed in mainland France, the technology was extended to Reunion Island in 1990, before being rolled out to other French overseas territories. By 1991, there were already over 42,000 subscribers. Other complementary services were added to the initial offering, including - the alphanumeric Operator service - the Opérator transfer service (an answering machine that automatically sends a message to Opérator) - and Opérator Car, an in-vehicle adaptation kit. This service uses a sub-carrier of France-Inter's frequency-modulation network, according to the RDS (radio data system) standard published by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
The TDF Operator pager is one of the many patents that TDF has created since 1975. The company's engineering and innovation centers include the Centre Commun d'Etudes de Télédiffusion et de Télécommunications (CCETT) in Rennes and the Centre d'Etudes en Radiodiffusion et Radiocommunications (C2R) in Metz. Antiope, the beginnings of Teletext, Teletel, the MP3 format, Minitel, conditional access television, the image coding algorithms behind the JPEG format, and many others are among the studies and patents to which TDF has contributed. TDF relies on the talent, expertise and commitment of its teams to meet the technological challenges and support the digital transitions of tomorrow. Whether they are engineers, technicians or service specialists, the men and women of TDF are at the heart of the company's success.