Power firm MVM looking to enter Hungarian telecoms market

Dow Jones Newswires reports that Hungarian state owned power wholesaler MVM is keen to enter the country’s telecoms market for government-based services, citing the group’s communications director Gyorgy Felkai as the source. It is understood the plan currently under consideration would see MVM assuming control of government-related business interests held by dominant operator Magyar Telekom (MTel), which is majority owned by Deutsche Telekom of Germany. Felkai confirms that the power group’s owners used the platform of its recent AGM to back a plan to enter the telecoms services market. MVM is aiming to build out its network infrastructure for government communications using the company’s existing network, with future plans to incorporate marketing the wholesaler’s capacities commercially at a later stage. The plan would however, require billions of forints to realise Felkai said, without providing specifics. If realised, MVM’s proposed infrastructure set-up would replace the network currently operated by MTel as part of the government’s plan to make it state owned from 2012. For its part the larger PTO declined to comment.