Natel is a

generic trademark A generic trademark, also known as a genericized trademark or proprietary eponym, is a trademark or brand name that, because of its popularity or significance, has become the generic term for, or synonymous with, a general class of products or ...

used in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and in

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...

for '

mobile phone A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones ( landline phones). This rad ...

'. The word was coined in 1975, when the Swiss Postal Telegraph and Telephone introduced a mobile phone service for vehicles in Switzerland: Nationales Auto-TELefonnetz, or "National Car Telephone Network". When the PTT was dismantled in 1998, it split into two public service companies. The telecom corporation,

Swisscom Swisscom is a major telecommunications provider in Switzerland. Its headquarters are located in Worblaufen near Bern. The Swiss government owns 51% of Swisscom. According to its own published data, Swisscom holds a market share of 56% for mob ...

, continued to develop the Swiss mobile network, and registered the word ''Natel'' as a trademark. It remains a brand of the company's mobile telephony services to this day. In Switzerland, "Natel" is still used as a synonym for mobile (or cell) phone across the country. Like many words with origins in a specific culture, this word is unknown to French, German, and Italian speakers outside of Switzerland.

History

Analog Networks: * NATEL A (first subnet, 1978)''So sah das erste Natel aus''
Radio DRS.ch retrieved 16 October 2010. * NATEL B (1983), another 12 kg portable suitcase

radiotelephone A radiotelephone (or radiophone), abbreviated RT, is a radio communication system for conducting a conversation; radiotelephony means telephony by radio. It is in contrast to ''radiotelegraphy'', which is radio transmission of telegrams (messag ...

* NATEL C (1987), a 1G NMT-based system with analog voice transmission and digital switching and control information Digital Networks: * NATEL D (1993), a 2G

GSM The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is a family of standards to describe the protocols for second-generation (2G) digital cellular networks, as used by mobile devices such as mobile phones and Mobile broadband modem, mobile broadba ...

network ** Since the mid-1990s

SMS Short Message Service, commonly abbreviated as SMS, is a text messaging service component of most telephone, Internet and mobile device systems. It uses standardized communication protocols that let mobile phones exchange short text messages, t ...

** Since 2001 2.5G GPRS ** Since 2004 3G

UMTS The Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is a 3G mobile cellular system for networks based on the GSM standard. UMTS uses Wideband Code Division Multiple Access, wideband code-division multiple access (W-CDMA) radio access technolog ...

** Since 2012 4G

LTE LTE may refer to: Science and technology * LTE (telecommunication) (Long-Term Evolution), a mobile telephony standard ** LTE Advanced, an enhancement ** LTE Advanced Pro, a further enhancement * Compaq LTE, a line of laptop computers * Leukotrie ...

** Since 2019 5G NR Since the liberalization of the market in 1997, two other mobile operators have appeared in Switzerland. Natel-A 4079162.JPG, NATEL A MfK Bern - Natel B, Indelco Compact 801625.jpg, NATEL B (Indelco Compact 801625) MfK Bern - Natel C, Technophone PC 107-3.jpg, NATEL C (Technophone PC 107-3)

References

{{Reflist Mobile phone culture