Press Releases

Budapest, June 12, 2020 16:00

• The European Commission has been monitoring Member States’ digital progress through measuring digital economy and society indicators since 2014.
• On the basis of the latest DESI report (Digital Economy and Society Index) of the Commission, Hungary has taken one step up the ranking, and is 21st on the list of 28 member states.
• The index measures five components each year: connectivity, human capital, use of internet services, integration of digital technology and digital public services.
• Magyar Telekom has contributed to the above by the intensive network development carried out in the past years. It offers gigabit bandwidth at more than 2 million endpoints on its fixed-line network, i.e. to 40% of household and businesses in Hungary, and has also launched its commercial 5G service.
  
  

According to the latest DESI report, Hungary has made substantial progress compared to previous year in terms of digital infrastructure and ranks 7 ^th. Thanks to the Superfast Internet Program and the investments made by market players, fixed very high capacity coverage has further increased. As a result of high fiber access coverage, the take-up of at least 100 Mbps fixed broadband is outstanding in Hungary at 51% compared to the 26% average of the EU, and we are in the lead in terms of 5G readiness, too. Hungary ranks 16th in the EU in terms of broadband prices and 8th in terms of fixed broadband prices when analyzing all product baskets (fixed, mobile, converged).

Magyar Telekom has actively contributed to the above results. It has put special emphasis on network development in order to provide even better services to its customers for years, and has spent HUF 246 billion on the infrastructure development of its mobile and fixed networks in Hungary between 2015 and 2019. On top of the developments financed by the company itself, additional momentum was given to the efforts by the EU funds won by the company for its Superfast Internet Program. Partly due to the above, the number of gigabit access points on its fiber and cable networks has exceeded two million by now. This means that Telekom can provide gigabit service to 40% of households and businesses in Hungary. The operator also launched its commercial 5G service in April, which is available to users through 5G-capable devices as part of the respective monthly package in certain areas of Budapest and Zalaegerszeg. The 5G technology, which offers much higher speeds than technologies before, low latency and the potentiality to connect lots of network equipment, offers many new opportunities to industrial and residential users alike. Telekom plans to further increase its geographical 5G coverage by the end of the year to make the latest generation of mobile technologies available to the greatest possible number of costumers.

According to the DESI report, Hungary ranks 19 ^th among EU countries on human capital. Digital skills and advanced specialist skills are well below the EU average. Only a quarter of the population aged between 16 and 74 has above basic digital skills, below the EU average of 33%. ICT specialists account for a slightly lower proportion of the workforce as in the rest of the EU, 3.7% against 3.9% in the EU.

In terms of internet use, Hungary ranks 14 ^th. There is a slight, but positive change in the number of people who never use the internet, the proportion of this group has decreased from the previous 16% to 14%. The ratio of those using social media is especially high at 86%, compared to the 65% EU average. There is a major increase also in the number of those making video calls from 60% to 75%, which is well above the EU average.

Hungary remained one of the worst performing EU countries in the Integration of digital technology in businesses, and ranks 26 ^th. Only 6% of companies rely on big data solutions, while the EU average is 12%, and use of cloud computing is below the EU average, too. As for e-commerce, although online shopping by individuals increased, only 12% of SMEs sold goods online in 2019 compared to 18% in the EU.

In terms of digital public services, Hungary has stepped up two ranks and is 24th. The ratio of e-government users and pre-filled forms increased, but is still below the EU average.