Vodafone Hungary no relation Pannon GSM
History
On 7 July 1999 a consortium formed by V.R.A.M. and Primatel won the third GSM 900/1800 licence in Hungary. After signing the agreement on 30 November 1999, the consortium launched its network under the Vodafone brand. In the initial years, Vodafone used towers of its main competitors Westel (now Telekom) and Pannon GSM (now Yettel) networks, while their own network was available only in Budapest and other main cities. At the end of 2002, they covered 90% of the country.
On 30 January 2003 the company launched the Vodafone live! service and in the same year, the customer base of Vodafone reached over 1 million.In December 2004, Vodafone purchased the third 3G licence under the 2004 UMTS tender of NHH.In 2005, Vodafone launched the Vodafone Passport service, available in 17 countries at the time. On 16 December 2005 they launched the third 3G network of the country, which was available only in the inner districts of Budapest.In November 2006, the company offered a new alternative for fixed line telephone users. The Vodafone Otthon service allows customers to combine the advantages of landline and mobile telecommunications with one single handset.
In 2008, Vodafone switched to Huawei as a supplier of their UMTS infrastructure. In the same year, the company offered free in-network texts or minutes for all pre-paid customers, provided they charged their balance with 3000 HUF or more.
Vodafone Hungary, along with Magyar Posta launched the first MVNO operating under the Postafon brand in Hungary in 2009. The operator was also testing LTE technology in Budapest around this time. Vodafone introduced the Vodafone Plus postpaid plan as well, which offered unlimited voice and text services as a first on the Hungarian market.
In 2011, Vodafone announced the modernisation of their network infrastructure.In 2012, Vodafone announced a 50% joint venture with Tesco to launch Tesco Mobile. This partnership was the first official collaboration between the two companies in the world. In December that year, Vodafone launched 3G services on lines M2 and M3 of the Budapest Metro.In 2018, Vodafone announced the acquisition of UPC Hungary. The acquisition closed in August 2019. In April 2020, the UPC brand was completely phased out, with all services rebranded to Vodafone Hungary.
The network modernisation process completed in March 2012. Vodafone, after securing additional bandwidth in the E-GSM band, launched the nationwide HSDPA+ network, which is available for roughly 9.5 million people in the country. As of July 2012, the 21 Mbit/s capable HSDPA+ network is available in 2432 settlements while the 42 Mbit/s capable DC-HSPA+ network in 101 settlements, including Budapest. The whole network is capable of LTE. Vodafone launched their RED plans aimed at smartphone users with unlimited calls and texts in October 2012. They were the first operator offering flat-rate tariffs on the market.
On 31 January 2023, Antenna Hungária (a subsidiary of 4iG) and Corvinus Nemzetközi Befektetési Zrt. (an investment company owned by the Hungarian State) acquired Vodafone Hungary, with the companies owning 51% and 49% of the shares, respectively.
no relation