Press Releases

Budapest, January 3, 2017 15:00

• At the end of 2016 70% of the mobile data traffic is managed on 4G network.
• The number of 4G customers increased with 44% last year and their number is around 1.4 million.
• The outdoor residential coverage of Telekom's 4G network increases to 98% by the end of the year while the indoor coverage is increased to the rate of 87.2%.
• The outdoor 4G+ service with a 300 Mbit/sec nominal download speed, is available in more than 40 settlements, for almost 25% of the citizens.
• It is a compliment for the quality of the Hungarian mobile networks, that the independent OpenSignal survey published in November placed the Hungarian 4G mobile networks third in the world in the field of average download speed.

As a result of Telekom's network development efforts the outdoor residential coverage increases to 98% by the end of the year. In 2016 the coverage of small settlements with 4G technology was continued and as a result super high-speed mobile internet will be accessible in more than 2600 settlements within one year. Telekom's 4G services is currently available in more than 2800 settlements among which 1100 settlements’ population is below a thousand residents. With the operation of new stations the service provider focuses on providing higher 4G indoor coverage, too. As a result the indoor coverage increases to 87.2% (from 83.5%). The improvement of coverage is already well perceptible in Budapest in the inner and big districts of Buda and in the outer districts a significant improvement is expected in the first quarter of 2017.

July 2015 was the month when the 4G network’s total monthly data traffic first exceeded the 3G data traffic among the company’s customers. In the past one and a half years the proportions changed drastically and by 2016 mobile communication was clearly about the 4G technology: a lot of customers started to use 4G devices and service. As a result, Telekom's 4G customers increased 44% within a year to 1.4 million and by now more than 70% of the mobile traffic is managed on the 4G network.

Telekom does not only focus on the outdoor and indoor coverage features but also improves the speed of the service. Nyíregyháza was the first in Hungary where in December 2015 Telekom made available 300 Mbit/sec nominal download speed in its 4G+ mobile internet network. In areas covered by the 4G+ (LTE-Advanced) technology customers may experience double data transmission speed when using suitable devices and fee packages. The 4G+ service is now available in more than 40 settlements which represents 25% outdoor residential coverage. In November Telekom switched to 450 Mbps speed in Gödöllő. Currently this is the highest speed commercial 4G/4G+ mobile data service in Hungary which, for the time being, is only available for those residents of Gödöllő who have the necessary high-speed devices but according to the company's plans the solution will also be available at key importance events in the future. Almost one quarter of the Telekom device portfolio already supports the 4G+ technology.

In 2006 there were some forward-looking tests in the Telekom network: in May 2016 Telekom presented the 4G based audio call service in its headquarters in Budapest (VoLTE: Voice over LTE). The VoLTE (Voice-over-LTE) technology offers quicker building of calls, HD sound quality and 4G speed data connection even during the call. Another significant advantage of the entirely IP-based telephone technology is that these calls deplete the batteries of devices much slower than the traditional technology.

In November the operator, together with Ericsson Hungary, tested the 1200 Mbps download speed mobile technology at the Regional Digital Summit organized in Budapest. The further developed 4G+ technology - which is only  operable in laboratories yet - offers a radical - approximately three times higher - performance increase compared to the currently available best mobile internet service. With the aggregation of several frequency bands, the further developed antenna system and higher modulation the technology multiplies the currently publicly available speed.