Press News

Budapest, May 8, 2003

At a meeting with the press on May 7, 2003 in Pécs the managers of Matáv's Southwest Hungary region discussed the performance of last year and plans for 2003. The meeting was attended by Tamás Lőrinc, head of the regional representation, János Somfai, regional manager of the Business Services Line of Business, Ágnes Kelenfi, regional manager of the Residential Services Line of Business and István Juhász, regional manager of the MatávPont shops.

Regional representation in the Southwest Hungary region

The principal task of the regional representation is to implement the public life and interest enforcement strategy of Matáv at local level, to manage telecom-related matters in a complex and concise manner vis-a-vis the local municipalities and last but not least to coordinate the efforts of the local Matáv organizations. The Southwest Hungary region that has its center in Pécs, runs the company's operations in over 900 localities of Baranya, Somogy, Tolna and Zala counties.

Supporting local social activities is also one of the tasks of the regional representation. As in earlier years, Matáv was chief sponsor of the MUOSZ Press Ball and the County Ball this year, too. For the first time this year, we also organized the Matáv Vivicitta Run in Pécs on April 27. Furthermore, we were involved in the sponsoring of the following cultural events:
- concerts given by the Ghymes group in Pécs, Marcali and Szigetvár
- the Whitsun Festival in Szekszárd in the first week of June
- Catplay by the Harmadik Színház of Pécs

Technical development efforts in the region

As a result of the development efforts of the previous years, we are able to satisfy the telecom requirements of the region almost 100%. We are continuously replacing the old crossbar exchanges with SPC exchanges that are capable of providing more advanced services. Last year and this we replaced about 20 exchanges. This change brings better quality services for 9 100 subscribers. We have also spent large resources on providing telecom services for the new residential areas not only in the larger towns but also in the smaller localities. For example, we have launched such development in Nagykozár, Kozármisleny, Bogád, Siófok and Marcali.

The region has over 2100 km of backbone and regional network, of which the backbone network of over 500 km is entirely optical cable. Over the past years we replaced the backbone cables in the area of the Pécs Technical Service Center, which constitute part of the international network, with state-of-the-art, reliable high-speed optical cables far less sensitive to environmental effects. In view of growing demand, we are continuously replacing the old copper wires with new ones in the regional network, too. At present, 1400 km of the overall regional network of 1650 km is optical cable and the remaining 250 km is copper cable.

In 2003, the principal direction of development for Matáv is the expansion of broadband services, Internet use and ADSL penetration. These demands can be met on the fixed network, in the first place, so network development efforts will be focussed on these areas in the coming years. The expansion of the choice of equipment available in the market over the past two years has enabled us to meet the requirements of not only the large towns, but the smaller localities, as well. A case in point is Pogány in Baranya county which was the first small locality in the country where we installed an ADSL exchange serving a small number of subscribers (20-30 people).

Matáv Pont shop network in the region

The Management of the company began building the nationwide network of Matáv Pont shops in 1999. Most of these shops formerly operated as customer service offices. Matáv's goal in converting them was to offer all its products and services to the customers in one place, in an environment matching their standard. It was an equally important goal that, in these shops operating in more sprawling areas and presenting a uniform image, the company offer pleasant and comfortable conditions for customers who insist on doing business with the company personally. Visitors or customers who come to the Matáv Pont shops to do telecom business also have the opportunity to use the Internet, buy fixed or mobile telephone sets and accessories, charge cards, order Internet access or gather information on Matáv's discount offerings.

Most Matáv Pont shops are in county seats and in Budapest, in 24 places altogether. Some customers feel more secure doing their business with the company in person, so besides the telephone call center, the importance of the Matáv Pont shops remains decisive in keeping contact with the residential and SME customers. It is this user demand that has called into being the Matáv Pont Official Partner network, which already counts 52 partners across the country.

The Matáv Pont shop network is managed by three regions: the Western, the Eastern and the Budapest regions. The Western Region, with its center in Pécs, is responsible for 9 Matáv-owned shops and 16 Matáv Pont franchise shops operated by the official partners.

Here are some important Matáv Pont shops in the region:
Kaposvár: offers a special range of Matáv Group products in an independent shop, with a staff of 8. (address: 7401, Kaposvár Damjanich u. 2.)
Pécs: this is the biggest shop, located in the ground floor of the "Fészek" building in the city; run by a staff of 12, it offers the widest range of Internet and GSM products in a large show area. (7601, Pécs Rákóczi út 17.)
Szekszárd: the shop situated in a prime location in the seat of Tolna county offers, beside the entire Matáv portfolio, Axelero and Westel products, too. (7101, Szekszárd Széchenyi u. 11-13.)
Zalaegerszeg: the shop located in an independent building in the city is run by a staff of 7 and offers, in addition to Matáv products, Internet and GSM products and services, too. (8901, Zalaegerszeg Töttőssy u. 8/A.)

Apart from the nine shops owned by the company, those firms that have made a franchise agreement with Matáv operate 16 shops in the Western Region. Such Official Partner Matáv Pont shops operate, among other places, in Dombóvár, Keszthely, Marcali, Mohács, Nagykanizsa and Siófok.

The indirect sales channel in the region

The Southwest Hungary region of the Indirect sales channel is responsible for coordinating and supporting the work of the distributor and dealer network in Baranya, Somogy, Tolna, Zala counties and the southern part of Fejér county. Apart from the county seats and the big towns, we have representations in the smaller localities, too, so that our salesforce can reach potential demand as quickly as possible. At present, we have a salesforce of 44 and 11 distributors working in the region. Our customer base in the region includes small and medium-size enterprises, micro enterprises (about 3000 customers) and the key residential customers (about 27 000 of them). We have established the sales network to be able to provide full service for our customers.

We have put our key sales partners in charge of the personal account management of the high-end customers managed by our line of business. About one third of the customers receive personal account management. With our personal account management program, we wish to improve the quality and efficiency of customer management. We are making consistent efforts to make sure that besides using the services best tailored to their needs, our customers are able to optimize their telecom expenditures. Our goal is to build long-term relationships resting on mutual advantages, for which the state-of-the-art products and highly qualified professionals and salesforce of our company provide an excellent basis. In an effort to keep our customers updated on our new products and services, since last year we have been sending them monthly color newsletters and are also organizing regular meetings and professional forums for them where we provide in-depth information on particular timely topics. In 2003 such meetings will be held in the county seats of the region (Pécs, Kaposvár, Szekszárd, Zalaegerszeg).

Business Services Line of Business in the region

Matáv's Business Services Line of Business is a decisive player of the business communications market. Our task is to make available to some 6 000 partners in the business market segment (key and large customers) the achievements of telecommunication and information technology, to build the information society by offering efficient customized solutions.

Quality, error-free use, complex solutions, customized applications and the integration and possibility of expansion of the various systems are becoming increasingly important considerations for the customers. Demand for bandwidth and interest in high-speed networks are soaring. Matáv's personal account managers maintain close contacts with the partners, are familiar with their activities and business background. With a knowledge of the processes and objectives of the partner, they are able to formulate the info-communication requirements of the partner and make customized proposals for them. As a result of acquiring highly specific knowledge of the market segments, several "professional packages" have been developed in cooperation with the partners.

Cooperation with some key local institutions

Mayor's Office of the City of Pécs
Formerly, there was only low-speed modem connection between the Pécs Mayor's Office and its institutions. The new virtual private network (VPN) currently under construction will connect in network about 50 economic units with the help of the ADSL technology. This connection will make available for the institutions all the servers and application of the Office, including its financial system, mail server, the Intranet, etc., thus ensuring better operation, more efficient cost management, faster information exchange and paper saving for the Mayor's Office.

Pécs University
Building, operation and continuous development of a common optical network for the city and the university (1995-2003). Building a computer and communication lecture hall in the Pollack Mihály faculty of the university (1999).

City of Pécs
Matáv is founding partner and sponsor of the Viva Pécs Internet promotion consortium (1998-2001).

City of Kaposvár
Involvement in the EU 5 framework program "Tools and solutions of the information society" (City Mayor's Office, MTA-SZTAKI, Budapest University of State Administration and Economics, Matáv). Matáv provided the capital for launching the project.

Zalaegerszeg Mayor's Office
Connecting the city to the network of the Federation of Cities with County Rights (IT Commission).

Major references (contracts won through application) in the region

Flextronics International (Zalaegerszeg)
High-speed (Lan-Flex) international and domestic network.

Paksi Nuclear Power Plant
Design, build and operate the high reliability communication system of the power plant.

E.ON Group (DÉDÁSZ Rt.)
Build the high-speed network of the group as exclusive communication partner of the company (Matáv-Westel).

Dunántúl Regional Water Works
Building 40-endpoint Frame-Flex data network as part of the company's SAP company management system, in cooperation with Compaq.

Tamás Lőrinc, head of the regional representation and manager of the technical services center

Graduated from the wireless faculty of the Széchenyi István Technical College in 1991 and took a diploma in telecommunication. Joined Matáv in 1993 and worked several years in the investment area. In 1997 took a degree in economics. Has been running the Pécs Technical Services Center since 2001. Was given responsibility for the regional representation tasks in October 2002.

János Somfai, manager of the southwest Hungary region of the Business Services Line of Business

Has been working with Matáv, and its legal predecessor, as telecommunication engineer since 1973. On his initiative and plans, the most significant 30-endpoint data network of the "countryside" was built in 1993. Till 1995 he worked in the innovation area, managing the development of the South Transdanubian telecommunication network and the relevant priority jobs in the region. In 1995 he was appointed to set up a sales organization specialized in the personal account management of business customers, and he was also personally involved in this effort. With his colleagues, Mr. Somfai played a pioneering role in the introduction of the new technologies (ISDN, managed leased line, Frame Relay, LAN-FLEX, ADSL), making in this way a decisive contribution to the technological development of the region.

Ágnes Kelenfi, regional manager of the Residential Services Line of Business

Has been working with Matáv since 1993, first as marketing officer at the Service Department of the Pécs Directorate, then as head of the sales group of the Small customers department. She was appointed manager of the Southwest Hungary region in 1998 when the Residential Business Unit was founded. When the Residential and SME Line of Business was set up on April 1, 2001, the sales network was expanded with the distributor partner network, and it was at that time that Ágnes Kelenfi, a qualified economist and international marketing economist, was put in charge of the management of Indirect sales for the Pécs region.

István Juhász, regional manager of the Matáv Pont shop network

Has been working in telecommunication technology since 1980. He first taught at the Pécs Vocational Secondary School of Communication, then for five years starting 1992, he was deputy director of the wholly Matáv-owned Centrophone Kft. Mr. Juhász has been working with Matáv since 1997. Since August 1, 1999 he has been running the West Hungary Shop Network of Matáv's Residential Services Line of Business. He took a diploma in international marketing from the College for Foreign Trade, and one as certified telecommunication engineer from the Transportation and Telecommunication College.