According to the latest official data from the Hungarian telecoms regulator the National Telecommunications Authority (NHH), the number of fixed line connections fell by 9,000 in September, to 3.379 million, while broadband internet connections rose by 17,000 to 537,000. The industry regulator said the number of landlines per 100 of population dipped to 33.57 at the end of September, from 33.65 a month earlier, and household penetration of traditional landlines fell to 66.7% from 67.87% in the same period. By contrast, the number of active ADSL subscriptions increased by 12,000 lines to 252,000, with cable internet subscriptions accounting for the vast proportion of the remainder. By the end of September the number of Hungarians with some form of internet access stood at 789,000, up 29,000 on the previous month.
The NHH based its statistics on official data gathered from the country’s five former concession holders, Magyar Telekom, Hungarotel, Emitel, Invitel and Monortel, as well as alternative telcos PanTel, Tele2, GTS Datanet and eTel Hungary, and cable companies UPC Hungary, T-Kábel, Fibernet and EMKTV. According to the NHH, these companies accounted for between 85%-90% of the entire broadband market at that date.