Full Service Network, also known as FSN was an 18-month trial interactive television service launched by Time Warner Inc. in Orlando, Florida. The FSN was active between 1994 and 1997 targeting an initial number of 4,000 households with services that ranged from video-on-demand to ordering fast food using just the TV remote. At its time, it was dubbed the "most futuristic network introduced so far."
The trial aimed to study how interactive services would work, as well as their costs and advertising capabilities. It also aimed to find out "what people will want when the equipment that is now so expensive becomes affordable several years down the road." This meant that the service offered traditional cable, interactive television, telephone services, and high-speed PC access to on-line services.
Regardless of its first-time advantages, the FSN was not television's first attempt at interactivity, nor was it Time Warner Cable's first attempt. Previous efforts included 1977's QUBE, a service offered by Warner-Amex (a joint venture between Warner Cable and American Express) initially in Columbus, OH, then expanding into cities such as Dallas, and Pittsburgh; as well as the 1950s children television show Winky Dink and You, which prompted interactivity through the use of plastics 'Magic Screens' that parents would place on the actual television display so kids could draw on them.
However, the FSN's service was very similar to 2008 interactive services. Users would be plugged into the network using set top boxes and selecting the offerings of their choice using just the remote control. The drawback: the cost of set top-boxes was extremely high in the 1990s (over $1000.)
According to Gerald M. Levin, chairman and CEO of Time Warner at the time, the FSN was part of the company's strategy for driving the growth of its copyright businesses: