In Germany there is a broad spectrum of electronic information services. Mailboxes are operated by firms and organizations seeking to offer their business partners information and the opportunity to exchange messages or by private individuals wishing to converse or exchange computer programs. As a rule, mailboxes only have a local access, which can be reached via a modem or ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network), and therefore have a predominantly local circle of users.

Several hundred databases offer their customers from firms or institutions information which can be called up in return for a fee. These include article databases from newspapers, magazines and professional journals, catalog information from libraries and archives, address databases, databases containing information about firms and other kinds of business information, as well as scientific and technical databases.