Magyar Telekom’s Competitive Advantage?
By forcing state institutions to obtain telecoms services from Magyar Telekom, the government is making a monopolist of the incumbent operator. And every sign points in the same direction: the fears of its competitors are justified.
The Hungarian government may be excluding Hungarian telecoms firms from a HUF17bn market, even whilst proclaiming its support for “telecoms liberalisation.” In a few years’ time, state institutions may be forced to order all their telecoms services from Magyar Telekom Rt. State institutions are currently obliged to order all premium services – like IP telephony or digital date and voice transfer – from the company.
“For months, state customers have been refusing to sign contracts we’d already agreed on. They tell us they’re not allowed to deal with us, because Magyar Telekom is the only permitted service provider,” complained the legal manager at GTS-Datanet, one of the alternatives to Magyar Telekom. In practice, state institutions have no choice: if they fail to follow the “recommendation” of the Prime Minister’s Office they will lose promised budget support.
