“Vodafone has been continuously striving for modernisation in Hungary for 20 years and is playing a major part in the social application of 5G, the most modern telecommunications technology”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said on Thursday to mark the fact that Vodafone, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary, launched Hungary’s first ever commercial 5G services covering Budapest’s city centre.

The Minister stressed that through the development of the 5G network Vodafone is also contributing to the sustainability of Hungarian economic growth. He recalled that 20 years ago Vodafone had transformed the Hungarian telecommunications market, and by increasing competition has contributed to the rapid proliferation of mobile communications. “The company is a member of the 5G Coalition and the Artificial Intelligence Coalition, and its foundation is funding the development of digital teaching and launched a Digital School Programme 4 years ago”, he added. “Vodafone was also one of the first to move its service centre to Hungary, thus contributing to the domestic employment of highly-trained young people who speak several languages”, he explained. According to Mr. Szijjártó, the new global economic era is creating a new competitive situation in which enterprises are competing with each other for the development of technological innovations. “It is the government’s responsibility to convince them that Hungary is the most suitable place for the application of these innovations and for further investment”, he emphasised.

Mr. Szijjártó declared that the government does not differentiate between businesses based on their nationality, and accordingly it has no objection to Chinese company Huawei cooperating with UK-based Vodafone. “It is in the national interest for eastern and western enterprises to be able to cooperate with each other in Hungary, and be free to choose their partners for their domestic activities”, he added. Referring to Brexit, he explained that in the spirit of mutual respect Hungary continues to strive for the closest possible economic, trade and investment cooperation with the United Kingdom. Deputy State Secretary for Infocommunications Károly Balázs Solymár from the Ministry for Innovation and technology stressed the importance of continuous development, explaining that new telecommunications innovations are appearing in rapid succession. “5G is not simply a step up in innovation, and accordingly the government regards it not only as a technological instrument, but also as one of the fundamental conditions for competitiveness”, he added.

Mr. Solymár said that 5G should extend to Hungary’s major cities and main transport routes by 2023, and be available throughout the country by 2025. At the event in Budapest, CEO of Vodafone Hungary Amanda Nelson stressed that the company group serves some 700 million customers worldwide and feels it is its duty to ensure that its technological innovations are enjoyed by consumers. “Behind the success of 5G lies cooperation between enterprises, government bodies, regulators, universities, innovators and sector businesses, and this cooperation could lead to further useful solutions”, she added. Vodafone’s Deputy CEO for business relations Gergő J. Budai called the developments relating to 5G technology a network milestone, pointing out that the capital’s first 5G base transmission station was also put into commission by Vodafone. He said it is important to make the new technology available and accessible to everyone. Vodafone’s Deputy CEO for corporate services István Király welcomed the fact that Hungary has also taken part in 5G testing, and by doing so has contributed to the exploitation of the opportunities inherent in intelligent devices. “5G will revolutionise industry and will help Hungary to also successfully benefit from the proliferation of intelligent devices”, he added.

(MTI)