Hungarian mobile operator Pannon today announced that its high speed 3G/HSDPA network is now available in nearly 360 towns and villages across Hungary. The cellco says it has been ramping up the coverage of the network to accommodate strong demand for mobile broadband internet services. The operator, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Telenor of Norway, has experienced a tenfold rise in data volumes carried over its HSDPA network in the past year. Having initially rolled out HSDPA in Budapest and its environs, Pannon has since extended coverage to the Lake Balaton region and begun implementing major upgrade projects in other parts of the country, including Heves county. The latest expansion took in the town of Hatvan to the east of the capital.
Pannon’s internet services can be used without a fixed telephone line, independently of customers’ existing mobile phone subscription on any desktop or laptop computer. Pannon mobile internet packages use a USB dongle device and come in three flavours designed to suit the user’s download requirements: a 10GB package for heavy users, a 5GB package and a 100MB package for occasional users.