State-owned player enters the Hungarian mobile market

2012-02-06



The winner of the biggest block at the 900 MHz auction is a consortium formed by state-owned companies Magyar Posta (the Hungarian Post), MFB Invest (a unit of the Hungarian Development Bank) and Magyar Villamosművek (a key player in the electricity sector), announced the National Media and Infocommunications Authority (NMHH). The consortium bid HUF 10bn (€34.4m) for the 35 MHz block, out of which 5 MHz are in the 900 MHz EGSM band, 15 MHz are in the 1,800 MHz D-block, and the respective remainder in the 2,100 MHz E-block. The three incumbent mobile operators also won frequency blocks in the auction: the market leader T-Mobile (also known as Magyar Telekom) by both revenue and subscribers won 2 MHz with a bid of HUF 10.92bn (€37.5m); Vodafone won 2 MHz with a bid of 15.67bn (€53.9m), while Telenor won 1.8M Hz by bidding HUF 7.29bn (€25m). The aggregate of all bids at the auction reached a total of HUF 43.9 (€151m) plus VAT.

Following the auction, the state-owned consortium will become the fourth player on the Hungarian mobile market, with the possibility to provide mobile, voice and internet services, including LTE technology.