Networked Policy

Telecommunications Regulation (Stage 3/4)

Hungary has a similar telecommunication regulation compared to the other member countries of the European Union. Hungary’s telecommunications regulations are governed by the National Communications Authority, or Nemzeti Hírközlési Hatóság: NHH. This authority is responsible for collaborating closely in order to secure,the consistent protection of competition on the electronic communication market, and to enhance the unified application of the law. The authority controls licensing for radio frequencies and registering operators. The operators must request to be registered and are then audited by the NHH to be compliant with the telecommunications regulations and laws.

For the most part, Hungary has a neutral network. Users have a right to obtaining internet access, telephones, and other general communications. The NHH controls only what the radio frequencies and the registered operators do, as they also audit them from time to time. Since Hungary is under the EU, it also follows a certain criteria for the information society. The EU believes in a information society that includes a certain lifestyle that is mentioned above in the Network Society section. The telecommunication regulations are at the EU level on this and that information should be able to flow freely and without disruption for people to live in the information society without interference.

References: 6.1, 6.2

ICT Trade Policy (Stage 3)

The NHH also regulates market entry and reduces the regulatory burdens on market access since it is enough for electronic communication service providers to notify their intention to engage in activities. The NHH is required to register the operators within eight days and issue a certification of registration upon request by the operator. These are also public records.

Hungary also falls under the European Union for trade. The European Union has an average tariff rate of 1.2 percent on electronic items. Being under the EU also allows for customers to be provided basic services, for companies to be able to be regulated so that information can flow freely through the network society, and this also prevents monopolies from occurring within the country as people will have more options through the EU. However, there are a few areas in which trade is restricted from non-tariff barriers in ICT, such as:

  • Market access restrictions in some services sectors
  • Non-transparent and restrictive regulations and standards
  • Inconsistent regulatory and customs administration among EU members


Hungary also faced some reprimanding from the EU for not fully complying with the trade freedom score and had non-tariff barriers that violated some of the EU trade policies. They also have a slightly higher cost of trade due to weak enforcement of intellectual property rights. This means that the EU is trying to bring Hungary up to it's standard for most of its trade policies and ICT is no exception.

The European Commission is also in control of many of the ICT trade policy in Hungary since they are involved with the EU. The European Commission controls the trade barriers and non-tariff barriers that exist throughout the EU. With this in mind, in the ICT sector, the EU only restricts certain trade, but for the most part, there is freedom movement for hardware and software, plus companies benefit from being able to change through countries without going through customs. According to the EU, a lot of the countries in the ICT sector are still outsourcing, but this trend is going away and ICT accounts for 50% of the growth in the European Union.

References: 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 6.6