Dramatic improvement in Hungaryʼs internet connections

BBJ

The internet bandwidth in Hungary has increased dramatically in the last decade. While optical networks have greatly expanded, the development of other technologies has also contributed to the improvement, according to a report on economic news portal vg.hu.

Ten years ago the average speed of internet connections in Hungary was around 2-3 Mbps, while today it is 14.8 Mbps. On an international level, the increase of 600% is an impressive achievement, although not unprecedented, according to vg.hu.

Internet connections above 4 Mbps are regarded as broadband, and 94% of connections in Hungary fit into this category. In 2007, broadband represented only 0.1% of all internet connections.

The main driver of this development was the spread of DSL connections through landline telephone networks, notes vg.hu. Optical networks offer much higher speeds, but their installation is costly and technically difficult. The future, the report adds, belongs to wireless and satellite technologies, which make possible internet connections in remote areas, where optical or other wired technologies would not be profitable for internet providers.