Vodafone Hungary To Launch 3G, HSDPA Services In 2007 - CEO"
BUDAPEST -(Dow Jones)- Vodafone Hungary, a wholly owned subsidiary of Vodafone, will launch Third Generation and High Speed Downlink Packet Access, or HSDPA, services in the course of the year, Vodafone Hungary Chief Executive Gyorgy Beck said Thursday.
Vodafone, the smallest among the three mobile providers in Hungary, will spend over $100 million on investments this year, Beck added, declining to be more specific.
The company is planning to boost its 3G coverage to up to 30% of the total population by the end of the year, a big step from the current coverage of the capital and its immediate area.
With a market share of 21.5%, Vodafone trails T-Mobile Hungary and Pannon.
T-Mobile is owned by Magyar Telekom, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom. Pannon is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Telenor.
"We'd like to see our market share expand but this is a highly penetrated market and competition is extremely tight," Beck said.
Hungary's mobile penetration rate stands at 99.2%, according to the latest figures published by telecommunications market authority NHH.
Company's Web site: http://www.vodafone.hu
-By Edith Balazs, Dow Jones Newswires; +361-267-0623; edith.balazs@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires"
Posted to the site on 29th March 2007