eTel's Hungarian operation wins a Full Public Telecommunications licence

eTel Group, a major central European alternative telecommunications serviced provider, has announced that its Hungarian operating company has been awarded a full public telecommunications operators (PTO) licence.

The licence will allow eTel to provide a full range of telecommunications services, covering Voice Data and internet. The Licence is governed by the Hungarian Communications Authority (HIF).

eTel is among the first operators in Hungary to be awarded a full PTO Licence.

The licence will enable the company to accelerate its interconnect negotiations with the incumbent Mataz.

It will also benefit from the ongoing deregulation of the Hungarian telecommunications market.

The PTO Licence award is timely for eTel Hungary, where it is currently providing range of telecom services to more than 500 corporate customers in Budapest, with additional city expansion planned for 2002.

eTel Group CEO Sean Melly said that the award of the licence marked the beginning of an exciting time for eTel Hungary as telecommunications deregulation takes place.

eTel focuses on the central European countries of the Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.