Press Releases

Budapest, September 19, 2000

Today, the Minister leading the Prime Minister's Office Mr. István Stumpf and the Chairman and CEO of MATAV Mr. Elek Straub officially opened the Matáv Innovation Center in Infopark. The construction work which began in January 1999 is one of the most significant innovation investments in Hungary. IVG-DTI Ingatlanfejlesztési Kft. was the chief contractor for the investment of over HUF 5 billion.

Infopark is the first large-scale scientific park in Hungary and the Eastern -European region as a whole, drawing on the intellectual infrastructure of the two universities located in the neighboring area and intended to operate as a special high-tech center. The companies established in this area also wish to benefit from the concentrated presence of telecoms and IT companies.

The structure of the Matáv Innovation Center which was opened today has an area of 24,268 square metres and meets the high requirements of international standards. Special attention was paid to the developments in heating and building services technologies, as well as to construction methods. The investors created a park with a natural environment to enable the staff of 800 MATÁV employees to work in a person-friendly environment. A special feature of the building is that it contains the largest modern anechoic chamber in the country designed for acoustic measurements, and a modern presentation library is also housed in the building. In addition to other organizations, the IT Directorate , the Product Management and Marketing Systems Management Directorates of MATÁV and the PKI Telecommunications Development Institute - the R+D arm of MATÁV - are also located in this building.

Every year, MATÁV spends an ever increasing amount on Research and Development activities, and on investments made within the framework of these activities. Financing is ensured primarily from the resources of the company, and a minor part comes from international R+D assignments.
The research and development activities of MATÁV range from the analysis of technical trends, reliability tests, the drawing up of technological specifications to system planning including the initial implementation. The scope of R+D activities covers the mass implementation of network facilities and solutions, the preparation of technical guidelines necessary to planning, and the development of support systems, procurement of facilities, software, external technological solutions relating to technological innovation , as well as training activities.

MATÁV has developed and maintains innovation cooperation with a number of domestic and international organizations (universities, research institutes ) .
MATÁV has traditionally good relations with the Budapest Technical College, with the Széchényi István College in Gyor, Budapest University of Economics and State Administration, Miskolc University, and with Budapest University of Technical and Economic Sciences. The scope of co-operation is extended also to domestic and international projects and to intern and scholarship programs organized for students. MATÁV provides support for the institutes of higher education in achieving their research and development objectives, whilst relying on their offers of training, research results and capacities.