Europe
: The public test has been successful, so Pannon GSM launches its
commercial 3G service - announced - announced Ove Fredheim, the mobile
operator’s CEO.
Video
calls - that still can be tested free of charge until 31st December
- will be priced at 110 forints per minute outside Pannon GSM’s
network, and only 90 forints inside the network at any time of the
day.
Not even a year
passed since Pannon GSM had been awarded the most valuable frequency
package of the Hungarian UMTS tender, and the company’s management
already announced the service’s commercial launch. Pannon GSM
costumers have been able to publicly test the 3G network since 15th
June, and, following the success of the test, the mobile broadband
technology with the fastest data speed is up and running regulalrly
in Pannon GSM’s network.
„Bandwidth
growth means, first of all, opportunities” - said Pannon GSM
CEO Ove Fredheim -, „that can be utilised by expanding our current
service portfolio, by offering new entertainment and business solutions
and new content as well.” The pricing of Pannon GSM’s
content and data services does not depend on particular technologies,
users pay the regular prices for downloaded music, videos, live tv
streams, internet browsing, e-mailing, even if they’re using
the 3G network.
Ove Fredheim stressed
that the highly competitive pricing of video calls is aimed to encourage
more and more customers to try video telephony, 3G-s unique feature,
while Pannon GSM is also dedicated to the development of other mobile
broadband services. „More than a hundred thousand Pannon GSM
subscribers are equipped with EDGE-capable handsets, and ours is Hungary’s
widest mobile broadband network, which is available for more than
half of the Hungarian population” - said the CEO. „Our
constantly expanding content portfolio, favourable internet opportunities,
our integrated mobile office solutions all serve the same goal: that
more and more people use mobile broadband” - he added.
Pannon GSM’
3G network is available in the central districts of Budapest, by the
end of the year most of the capital will be covered. The expansion
of the full mobile broadband network is going on as well, coverage
already reaches 50 percent of the population. Pannon GSM will soon
start testing HSDPA*, the ultra-high speed 3G technology, in its network.