Magyar govt abandons state-owned telco plan

The government of Hungary has abandoned plans to enter the domestic mobile phone market via a new state-owned company, MTI news agency reported, citing local daily Magyar Nemzet. Previously, the Budapest authorities had created a new vehicle, MPVI Mobil, to serve as the fourth mobile network operator in the country, owned by power utility MVM (45%), development bank MFB (45%) and Magyar Posta (10% share). However, the government says that now, MPVI Mobile will be merged with Magyar Posta, and its HUF500 million (USD2.3 million) start-up capital will be returned to its other two shareholders. MPVI Mobil suspended its operations in April this year after the Supreme Court upheld a February 2013 decision of the Budapest Metropolitan court from September 2012, annulling the results of a frequency auction held in January 2012.