Natel

{{for|the village in Iran|Natel, Iran}}

{{more citations needed|date=February 2015}}

File:MfK Bern - Natel B, Indelco Compact 801625.jpg

Natel is a generic trademark used in Switzerland and in Liechtenstein for 'mobile phone'.

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, 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.{{cite news|title=Swisscom gibt Bezeichnung Natel nach fast 40 Jahren auf {{!}} barfi.ch|url=https://barfi.ch/Digital/Swisscom-gibt-Bezeichnung-Natel-nach-fast-40-Jahren-auf|accessdate=24 February 2017|work=barfi.ch|date=22 February 2017|language=de}}

In Switzerland, "Natel" is still used as a synonym for mobile (or cell) phone across the country.{{cite web|title=L'italiano elvetico|url=http://cle.ens-lyon.fr/italien/l-italiano-elvetico-32549.kjsp|website=La clé des langues|publisher=ENS de Lyon|accessdate=31 January 2015|language=Italian|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150214122444/http://cle.ens-lyon.fr/italien/l-italiano-elvetico-32549.kjsp|archive-date=14 February 2015|url-status=dead}} 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)[http://drs.srf.ch/www/de/drs/81435.so-sah-das-erste-natel-aus.html So sah das erste Natel aus] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014232433/http://drs.srf.ch/www/de/drs/81435.so-sah-das-erste-natel-aus.html |date=2013-10-14}} Radio DRS.ch retrieved 16 October 2010.
  • NATEL B (1983), another 12 kg portable suitcase radiotelephone
  • NATEL C (1987), a 1G NMT-based system with analog voice transmission and digital switching and control information

Digital Networks:

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