Vodefone Hungary
Background of Vodafone Hungary
Milestones in the history of Vodafone Hungary

15 February 2007 - Car Card service from Vodafone
Vodafone launches a new service called Car Card. The Car Card package allows for the synchronized operation of handsets, and built-in car telephones. Vodafone customers using the Car Card service receive a second SIM card to be used in the car telephone.

12 February 2007 - Strategy for the protection of children
Leading European mobile telephone service providers signed a voluntary agreement in Brussels, under which the companies shall ensure that access to adult content is strictly regulated, and commercial content is classified into categories.
From the first days of own-branded content provision, Vodafone has been focused on ensuring tough regulations on content classification and publication. The use of handsets by children shall soon be fully secure also in Hungary.

7 February 2007 - 200 million Vodafone subscribers worldwide
The Vodafone Group has recently reached an important milestone: the mobile customer base of the company topped 200 million. Apart from Vodafone, only three other companies - Visa, Citigroup, and Suez - have ever managed to reach that number.
Vodafone has its own telecommunications network in 25 countries over 5 continents, and is present in a further 35 countries via partner telecommunications networks, which makes it one of the largest multinational companies, and the leading mobile telecommunications enterprise in the world.

30 November 2006 - Beck Gyàrgy is Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone Hungary
From 1 January 2007 Beck Gyàrgy is the Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone Hungary.
Beck Gyàrgy has been Chief Executive Officer of Hewlett-Packard Hungary since 2002. Mr. Beck takes over Mr. Babis Mazarakis' place, who was acting CEO of Vodafone Hungary since June.

Vodafone offers HP notebooks
From mid November, subscribers can purchase all tools and accessories required for the use of mobile internet (Vodafone Mobile Connect 3G/GPRS data card, Vodafone data card package, Vodafone internet price plan and a HP notebook) in Vodafone network stores. The special offer is available for both private, and business customers.

16 November 2006 - Online Customer Service: fast, and efficient way of dealing with problems and requests in Vodafone stores
Terminals of Vodafone Online Customer Service were installed in 5 Vodafone stores at the beginning of November, and 46 new terminals are planned to be installed in other locations soon. This service is in a class of its own in Hungary, no other mobile service provider has so far used this type of Customer Service.

6 November 2006 - Vodafone Otthon: simple solutions for your home. Fixed line and mobile telephone from a single service provider, with one single handset.
Vodafone offers a new alternative for fixed line telephone users. A new technical solution allows customers to combine the advantages of fixed line and mobile telecommunications in one single device. Vodafone Otthon is available throughout the country.

3 October 2006 - Two new retail price plans from Vodafone
Vodafone 500 and Vodafone 800 with 'group option' are the first price plans in the Hungarian retail market that allow prepaid monthly voice time be split up and used by more than one customer.
Vodafone 500 subscribers may have up to 2 SIM cards per user group, while Vodafone 800 allows up to 4 SIM cards. Calls within the group are completely free of charge in both price plans.

4 September 2006 - A unique service of its kind on the Hungarian mobile market Ò Vodafone postpaid subscriptions without 'loyalty agreement'
Vodafone Hungary is the first mobile service provider to allow private persons to buy postpaid subscriptions and subsidized handsets without having to sing up for a given period of time (loyalty agreement). According to the new special offer launched at the beginning of September, customers signing up for a postpaid tariff package only have to choose the appropriate price plan, and pay a one-time connection fee, which later will be credited to the their account.

15 August 2006 - Credit card and credit account for Vodafone subscribers
According to a recent agreement between OTP Bank Nyrt, the biggest financial institution in Hungary, and Vodafone Hungary Zrt., OTP bank will now offer credit cards and credit accounts for Vodafone customers. The customers can make purchases, withdraw cash or pay for their mobile telephone bills with their credit card. They also may open a credit account with OTP Bank for an easier settlement of their monthly mobile telephone bills.

22 June 2006 - New Chief Executive Officer at Vodafone Hungary
As of 1 July 2006, Babis Mazarakis is the new Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone Hungary Ltd. Vitai Attila, the previous CEO of the company, has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Turkish mobile service provider Telsim, a company that also belongs to the Vodafone Group.

8 June 2006 - Vodafone Hungary keeps expanding 3G services
Vodafone Hungary announced to take a step further in expanding 3G services, on 8 June. The first 3G service offered by Vodafone Hungary was Vodafone Mobile Connect 3G data card (introduced in December 2005). Now Vodafone launches its 3G multimedia service and starts selling 3G multimedia handsets. New exclusive services offered by Vodafone Hungary include half a million downloadable songs, mobile TV, videophone, multimedia packages.

2 May 2006 - BlackBerry Mobile Email from Vodafone: instant mobile email access for small and medium sized enterprises and private subscribers
On 1 May 2006 Vodafone Hungary introduces a new mobile email service, called BlackBerry Mobile Email, that allows customers to access their mailbox at any time, from anywhere. Vodafone launched BlackBerry for corporate customers in summer 2004, a service that required the use of a company server. The new Blackberry Mobil Email solution does not require the use of a company server, therefore it is available not only for large corporations but also for small and medium sized companies and private subscribers.

14 April 2006 - New price plan for small-sized enterprises
On 14 April 2006 Vodafone introduces new price plans for small-sized enterprises. Vodafone 1500 and Vodafone 2500 price plans allow subscribers to prepay for large amount of voice minutes at very favorable prices. Purchased minutes may be split up among employees. If using "closed group" option, calls within the company are free of charge.

1 March 2006 - "Parasport athletes of the year 2005" award ceremony
It has been the fifth time that the Hungarian Paralympic Committee and Vodafone Hungary handed out the "Parasport athlete of the year" awards. Vodafone Hungary has been supporting the Hungarian Paralympic Committee since 2000, and last year the company signed an exclusive sponsoring contract for further 4 years with the organization. According to the contract, Vodafone is going to donate 14 million HUF for the qualification competitions of paralympic athletes for the 2008 Beijing Games, and support the competition costs of the 2008-2012 paralympic replacement.

17 January 2006 - Vodafone subscribers can send SMS to fixed line telephones
As of 17 January 2006 Vodafone offers the possibility of sending/receiving SMS to/from fixed line telephones. The new SMS service of Vodafone enables customers to send and receive text messages to/from the network of following fixed line telephone operators: Emitel, Invitel, Mat?v, Hungarotel and Monortel.

21 December 2005 - Mobile fleet tracking from Vodafone>
Mobile Fleet Tracking service allows business subscribers to monitor and track the current geographical position and/or the route of vehicles and employees, ensuring a higher level of operational efficiency.

16 December 2005 - Vodafone Hungary launched 3G services
Vodafone Mobile Connect 3G Data Card ensures high speed internet access using the new 3G network of Vodafone. This is the first 3G application Vodafone offers in Hungary, and 3G coverage is currently available in the central districts of Budapest. With this service Vodafone has significantly outperformed the requirements set out in the Frequency Permit, regarding both the area and the quality of the service. Vodafone subscribers can access Vodafone 3G Roaming service also in six foreign countries.

3 October 2005 - Vodafone H?zimobil: a mobile solution for home
From 1 October 2005 Vodafone Hungary offers a new price plan called Vodafone H?zimobil. The easy-to-understand new tariff plan is targeted at those subscribers who make many telephone calls while at home, and offers attractive per-minute charges.

17 July 2005 - Vodafone Passport: A unique roaming tariff for Vodafone customers
The recently launched new tariff from Vodafone Hungary allows customers to make phone calls abroad for their home tariffs plus a one-time connection fee. And for incoming calls, Vodafone only charges a one-time connection fee.

4 May 2005 - Vodafone selected 3G network suppliers
Vodafone Hungary announced today that the process of selecting technological partners for the implementation of 3G network had concluded. 3G radio network and related services shall be delivered to Vodafone Hungary by Siemens Communications. The central infrastructure of the 3G network and related services shall be delivered by NOKIA HUNGARY.

4 March 2005 - 'G»zeng?z', a Hungarian Foundation for Children with Birth Injuries, had its headquarters renovated with subsidies received from Vodafone Foundation.

24 February 2005 - "VODAFONE PARALYMPIC ATHLETES OF THE YEAR 2004" AWARD It has been the fourth time that the Hungarian Paralympic Committee and Vodafone Hungary handed out the "Parasport athlete of the year" awards, to 14 athletes, in 4 categories.

4 January 2005 - Vodafone ensures full coverage along all three lines of Budapest Underground

22 December 2004 - Vodafone Hungary purchases third 3G license On 21 December 2004 Vodafone Hungary was granted the right to sign a 15-year license agreement for the third, so-called B Frequency Block, under the UMTS tender of National Communications Authority (NHH). During the license period Vodafone Hungary shall pay license fees proportional to its UMTS revenues, but at least HUF 16.5 billion.

21 December 2004 - Vodafone WLAN internet in Sportarena After a free test trial period, Vodafone Hungary, in cooperation with Budapest Arena, launches WLAN (wireless local access network) internet services. Vodafone WLAN Internet service allows users of WLAN capable desktop or laptop computers to access the internet i the area with WLAN coverage. The wireless technology ensures high speed access of up to 54 Mbit/s.

10 December 2004 - Vodafone Messenger: the most entertaining form of mobile chat and communication Vodafone Messenger offers mobile telephone users all the advantages of instant messaging, already well known for internet users. Registered Vodafone Messenger users can send and receive instant messages on their handset (in SMS or using the WAP pages of Vodafone live!) or computer.

8 November 2004 - Vodafone offers 3G services for the first time in Hungary with Vodafone Mobile Connect 3G data card. Vodafone Hungary is the first mobile telecommunication service provider in Hungary to offer its customers the new data transmission speed provided by 3G services, by introducing the Vodafone Mobile Connect 3G data card and the 3G roaming service Ò allowing customers to use the services also on other partner networks.

12 August 2004 - One and a half million customers and over ten thousand ported numbers at Vodafone. The customer base of Vodafone Hungary topped one and a half million. It is also a great success that 10,067 subscribers ported their numbers from other service providers to Vodafone since 1 May.

4 June 2004 - Coverage along the full length of M1 underground in Budapest. Vodafone Hungary guarantees voice and data transmission, without interruptions, along the underground line M1 in Budapest. It is important to note that the system guarantees excellent coverage in all places in the underground and meets 3G requirements.

26 May 2004 - Vodafone Hungary to offer new mobile email solution for corporate customers, called BlackBerry from Vodafone. BlackBerry?, developed and manufactured by Research In Motion, is already available for sale, and makes everyday life much easier for business subscribers. BlackBerry users may send and receive emails, make telephone calls, access the most important corporate information or use their electronic calendar or address book at any time, from anywhere*.

May 2004 - Vodafone 3G: better and faster services also in Hungary.
Vodafone Hungary Ltd. welcomes the 3G tender expected to take place in August. The company is highly likely to be among the aspirants for the 3G license and start 3G services in Hungary. Vodafone Hungary Ltd. welcomes the cautious approach of the Hungarian telecommunications authorities, and the method of determining license fees depending on demand.

April 2004 - Calls to any EU Vodafone network and EU fixed line telephone network cost HUF 25/minute (VAT included)
Vodafone Hungary launched its single Europe tariff on 3 May 2004. In the spirit of the European integration, calls to any EU Vodafone network or EU fixed line network and calls to Romania shall be charged HUF 25/minute. From 3 May Vodafone subscribers can call the citizens of the unified European Union and Romania for HUF 25/minute, and send short text messages to any EU Vodafone network for HUF 25/SMS.

March 2004 - Ahead of its main competitors Vodafone Hungary announced today that new customers who wish to port their already existing mobile phone numbers from another mobile telecommunication service provider to Vodafone will be welcome to do so totally free of charge from 1 May 2004. Vodafone will offer its new number porting service to the maximum satisfaction of customers.

February 2004 - Vodafone Connect Card wins at Cannes
Vodafone's Mobile Connect Card won the GSM Association Award in Cannes, one of the highest ranking recognitions for mobile service providers, in the category of 'Best Mobile Application or Service' in 2004.

February 2004 - "Paralympic Athletes of the Year 2003" award
It has been the third time that the Hungarian Paralympic Committee and Vodafone Hungary handed out the "Parasport athlete of the year" awards. Mesterh?zy Attila (Ministry of Children, Youth and Sports), N?das P?l (president of the Hungarian Paralympic Committee) and Nigel Thorpe (Director of Corporate Affairs of Vodafone Hungary, president of Vodafone Hungary Foundation) participated in the award giving ceremony.

October 2003 - Vodafone provides technical support for 46664 "1 minute for the fight against AIDS" campaign.
Vodafone is the telecommunications partner of 46664 "1 minute for the fight against AIDS" campaign, supported by Nelson Mandela. 46664 is fully committed to organize concerts, and use the music to call the attention of governments and individuals to the importance of fight against AIDS and the power of cooperation.

October 2003 - Platinum EFFIE for "Net-addicted" campaign
Vodafone's company policy on the importance of creative efficiency turned out to be a great success, as shown by EFFIE awards won by three campaigns of the company.
"Net-addicted" campaign won platinum and gold, while VitaMAX Joker and VitaMAX City campaigns won silver. Creative materials for the advertisements of Vodafone Hungary are prepared by Grey Worldwide Hungary advertising agency.

October 2003 - Vodafone to donate close to HUF 50 million for the disadvantaged
As part of the corporate social responsibility program of Vodafone, the company announced to donate close to HUF 50 million for the disadvantaged. Vodafone, as the leading mobile telecommunications service provider in the world, is strongly committed to the idea of social responsibility and supports local communities worldwide. As part of this program Vodafone Hungary Foundation for Equal Social Opportunities was set up in February 2003.

September 2003 - Vodafone live!: more entertaining and colorful mobile content
Mobile pages of Vodafone live! got a facelift in September. Vodafone live!, used by tens of thousands of customers, became the leading mobile portal in Hungary, with the widest portfolio of content, and content providers.

July 2003 - Vodafone employs over 1,300 people in Hungary
Vodafone Hungary, one of the most dynamically expanding Hungarian companies, has gone through a spectacular development in recent months, concerning both the number of subscribers, and the number of employees. Vodafone entered the Hungarian market in 1999, and staffing levels have been on the rise ever since: 500 in 2000, 700 in 2001, over 800 in 2002, and in July 2003 the number of employees exceeded a thousand. The employees of this young company are mainly in their twenties (average age is 28), and except for one person, they are all Hungarian citizens.

2 June 2003 - The name of V.R.A.M. Rt. changes to Vodafone Hungary Ltd.
Full name: Vodafone Hungary Mobile Telecommunications Company limited by shares

July 2003 - Vodafone in water and on land
In the spirit of supporting healthy lifestyle Vodafone has become more focused on water sports this summer. Vodafone will be the main sponsor of the Velence Lake-crossing Swimming Competition, to be held on 3 August. On 9 August the 10th Beach-crossing swimming competition takes place in Alm?di. The season closing event will be the Balaton Tour Competition.

June 2003 - postpaid subscribers can use 100% of monthly fees for making phone calls
Vodafone has been the first mobile service provider in Hungary to allow subscribers to use up the total amount of their monthly charges for telephone calls. A new option called "Max", available for Rock'n Roll subscribers, allows using the monthly charge of HUF 3125 for making phone calls.

16 May 2003 - VitaMAX top-up quick as lightning.
Prepaid VitaMAX accounts can be topped up also at OTP Bank cash machines. More than 1,500 ATMs can be used to top up VitaMAX accounts.

In May 2003 the customer base of Vodafone topped 1 million.
In three and a half years the customer base of Vodafone Hungary topped 1 million. To celebrate this special occasion, Vodafone invited Michael Flatley, and his group of dancers to Hungary.

Vodafone Mobile Connect Card
From the beginning of April Vodafone Group offers PCMCIA cards that allow customers to log on to the internet without having to connect the computer to a mobile telephone or a fixed line telephone connection.

15 April 2003 - Integrated mobile message sending application called Vodafone Mail
Email, fax and voicemail messages are stored in a common, integrated mailbox, accessible any time from anywhere

April 2003 - Vodafone to offer a set of innovative business services
Vodafone Mobile Office is the latest set of services offered for business subscribers in the Hungarian market.

March 2003 - Vodafone is among the first few service providers in the world that offer MMS sending to all inland networks
From 15 March subscribers to any of the three mobile service providers in Hungary (Pannon GSM, Vodafone, Westel) can send multimedia (MMS) messages containing pictures and audio content to any Hungarian mobile telephone number. With the connection of their MMS centrals the three mobile service providers expect the popularity of MMS to grow faster.

March 2003 - Vodafone to sponsor Budapest Sports Arena
Vodafone Hungary and Ar»na ãzemelteto Rt. (company responsible for the operation of the sports complex) executed an agreement, under which Vodafone Hungary becomes the main sponsor and official telecommunications partner of the newest sports complex in Budapest.

February 2003 - Vodafone wins the tender of the Hungarian Post
The three-year cooperation agreement was signed by Chief Executive Officer of Hungarian Post Dr. Szab€ P?l and Vodafone Chief Executive Officer Vitai Attila. Under the cooperation agreement Hungarian Post shall buy 1,500 subscriptions in the short term, and further 1,500 subscriptions in the long term, from the winner of the tender.

30 January 2003 - Vodafone live! in Hungary
Vodafone live! offers a variety of new products and services, including multimedia messaging (MMS), downloading of polyphonic ringing tones, and mobile games. Vodafone live! was first available in Hungary with Sharp GX10.

January 2003 - Vodafone launches new service called "SMS circular", that allows subscribers to send one short text message simultaneously to many recipients, e.g. friends, business partners.

Vodafone sponsors the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts
Between May and October of 2002 shall be renovated an important art treasure of the Museum of Fine Arts (Stefano Scotto: Crucified Jesus with the Virgen, St. John and Magdalena), a project supported by Vodafone Hungary.

6 November 2002 - 3G Roaming with Japan - for the first time in Hungary
Vodafone has been the first mobile service provider in Hungary to offer roaming services on third generation (3G) network.

28 October 2002 - Global launch of Vodafone live! and Vodafone Mobile Office
Vodafone live!, a special multimedia service that offers MMS, mobile e-mail, chat, color WAP and mobile game services was launched in eight European countries at the end of October 2002. Apart from Vodafone live!, a new service called Vodafone Mobile Office was also introduced, offering a portfolio of services designed for companies that operate in a modern, global mobile business environment

25 July 2002 - VitaMAX Roaming and top-up abroad
Roaming service ceased to be a privilege of postpaid subscribers, and has become available also for prepaid (so-called VitaMAX) subscribers. By the end of the summer VitaMAX subscribers can initiate telephone calls in 10 foreign countries, and are also allowed to top-up their balance by purchasing a top-up card issued by any partner operator of Vodafone.

11 July 2002 - Flat rate for internet service and new data transmission services from Vodafone
Thanks to the introduction of General Pocket Radio Service (GPRS) in the network of Vodafone, the service provider now offers monthly internet access for a flat rate. Vodafone is the first mobile service provider in Hungary to allow subscribers to use the internet night and day, without having to pay per-minute charges or charges for the transferred data.

25 June 2002 - Bosch Rexroth-Vodafone International Junior Soccer Tournament
More than 3,000 players from 203 junior clubs participated in the international soccer tournament, sponsored by Vodafone. The patron of the event was Nyilasi Tibor, who has been active in the Hungarian junior soccer scene for many years.

25 January 2002 - Vodafone celebrates with five hundred thousandth subscriber
The five hundred thousandth subscriber received HUF 500,000 and a luxury weekend vacation package. Vodafone entered the Hungarian market two years ago, and the subscriber base of the company already topped 500,000.

6 November 2001 - Vodafone Hungary is the first and only mobile service provider to start, in association with Motorola and RTL Klub, the SMS based quiz game of "Who wants to be a millionaire". The level of difficulty of questions is increasing, and contestants receive points for every correct answer. The SMS version of the quiz show is just as exciting as the original one on TV.

28 September 2001 - Vodafone to introduce Eurocall service also in Hungary
Eurocall makes the calculation of international calling cost easy and understandable. The service is available for Vodafone International Roaming subscribers, and is activated free of charge, for an undetermined period, upon request of the customer. Eurocall is the newest among many flexible and customer-friendly services from Vodafone.

On 18 September 2001 Vodafone opened its new Network Management Center (NMC). The NMC is in charge of monitoring the Vodafone network 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, and repairing any detected problems or errors immediately. Also a new, intelligent video wall was implemented, which helps identify, localize and repair any deficiencies in a fast and efficient manner. In order to support customer-oriented operation, a Call Center and a test lab employing state-of-the-art technology were also set up at the Network Management Center.

From 6 September 2001 all Vodafone subscribers can easily download the latest music hits to their handset. The new service from Vodafone called "MTV Ringtones" offers the most popular hits, and complete portfolio of ringtones and logos of European music television channel MTV.

June 2001 - Rock'n'Roll, the new postpaid price plan from Vodafone
Named after the popular and dynamic dance, this new, flexible postpaid price plan from Vodafone offers low per-minute charges and attractive monthly fees, and may be the perfect choice for those mobile telephone users who live in those cities and towns where Vodafone already has its own network.

22 June 2001 - Vodafone opens its first branch office outside Budapest, in Miskolc.
Miskolc was the fist city in the country where Vodafone opened a branch office. Szombathely, Szeged, Gyor, B»k»scsaba, and other big cities soon followed, as the bases of a country-wide network of Vodafone stores.

Successful ongoing cooperation with Nokia in 2001
Nokia already built around 900 base stations for Vodafone, and by the end of the year the number of base stations is expected to reach 1,200, ensuring good network coverage, indispensable for providing a high-quality telecommunications service. Thanks to the cooperation between the two leading telecommunications companies, the own network of Vodafone covers almost the whole country, ensuring excellent voice quality for Vodafone customers.

From 6 January 2001 the company manages all communications in the area of Budapest exclusively on its own network.

On 30 November Vodafone started the provision of services in Hungary.

On 15 November a 24-hour test was successfully concluded, and the first telephone calls were made in the network of Vodafone Hungary.

On 22 October, the company, officially registered under the name "Vodafone Hungary Mobile Telecommunications Company limited by shares", announced to launch its services under the brand name VODAFONE.

On 8 October Hungarian Minister for Transport, Telecommunications and Water Management Katona K?lm?n (on behalf of the Republic of Hungary) and Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Forword (on behalf of Vodafone Group) signed a concession agreement. The agreement shall grant Vodafone the right to provide mobile telecommunications services on the frequency range 900 and 1800 MHz, for a period of 15 years. Vodafone is the fourth mobile service provider on the Hungarian market.

On 20 September Vodafone signs a ƒ 150 million agreement with Nokia for the implementation of the complete 1800MHz GSM network. Nokia shall deliver high-quality telephone centrals, base stations, base station controllers (BSC) and intelligent network (IN) solutions.

7 July 1999 - Vodafone Hungary Mobile Telecommunications Ltd. is awarded a concession for the implementation of a GSM 900/DCS1800 mobile radiotelephone network in Hungary.

Using international best practices Vodafone is strongly focused on offering services that best suit the needs of Hungarian customers. As a result of a committed high-quality work, and customer oriented approach, the number of Vodafone subscribers is rising sharply.
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