Thursday, 22 September 2011
Hungary enjoys among the highest broadband usage levels in Central and Eastern Europe. Competition is both infrastructure and regulatory-based, with the latter made viable due to the regulator’s actions to promote competition. DSL and cable are the two most popular broadband platforms, though competition and the demand for bandwidth are pushing the drive for higher speed platforms, such as FttX and DOCSIS3.0. Catering for the large internet user base are useful online services and applications, fostering the development of an internet society, a trend recognised and encouraged by the government through investment and policy. It is hoped that internet society development will increase productivity and improve the standard of living. In this updated Hungary – Broadband Market Insights, Statistics and Forecasts report we provide an overview of Hungary’s broadband market in 2011, including data, statistics and scenario-based forecasts for fixed broadband penetration from 2010-2013 and 2020.
Cost remains the main impediment to FttH/FttB network construction due to the amount of engineering and construction required. FttB is generally more cost-effective than FttH as the fibre connection is shared among a number of end-users, though the reliance on copper for the last mile will mean that investment will have to be renewed in coming years to provide FttH. although the overall cost of FttH/FttB generally limits construction to high-density areas and greenfield developments.
Magyar Telekom announced plans in late 2008 to invest HUF40 billion during 2009-2013 on providing 100Mb/s broadband access to 1.2 million homes through FttX and EuroDOCSIS 3.0 technology.
In mid-2011 the regulator adopted new resolutions regulating the wholesale telecom and broadband internet markets which also incorporate new technologies. Service providers must share optical and cable networks with competitors in areas where the latter do not have infrastructure. The move, aimed at making competition technology-neutral and infrastructure-based, should encourage investment in the sector by eliminating uncertainty. Currently, three major providers – Magyar Telekom, Invitel and UPC – control 70% of the fixed-line infrastructure.
Key developments:
Average traffic per subscriber falls to 1.09GB in June 2011; FttX subscriber base reaches 240,000 in mid-2011; Maygar Telecom steps up e-health initiatives; regulator’s 2010 market data and market updates to July 2011; operator data to June 2011.
Companies covered in this report include:
UPC Hungary, Maygar Telecom, Hungarotel, GTS Datanet.
