because of the charges inherent in use of the telex service, messages sent via prestel telex link were chargeable, in 1984 at the rate of 50p for destinations in the uk, £1.00 for europe, £2.00 for north america, £3.00 for elsewhere and even £5.00 for sending to ships via inmarsat. there was no charge to prestel users for receiving telex messages.