Broadband Forum Confirms Its Commitment by Signing Digital Social Agreement

Members of Broadband Forum today signed the Digital Social Agreement by which they officially confirmed their commitment to extensively spreading broadband internet usage in Hungary.

Broadband Forum, an extended civil initiative, was founded in 2009 by the Broadband Foundation promoting broadband internet, with the objective to support the implementation of projects and ideas that help individuals, companies and other organizations to exploit wide selection of opportunities offered by good quality broadband services.

Projects connected to broadband technologies and putting an end to the obstacles – technical backlogs, lack of motivation and digital public confidence - to their extensive spreading are treated with priority by the Forum. These efforts can strengthen competitiveness, and enable equal opportunity and national socio-economic development. Since its foundation several companies and organizations have joined the Forum.

To view the photogalery of the press conference click on the photo.

Digital Social Agreement signed today is a document created in accordance with the mission and objectives of the Broadband Forum.  By signing this, members aspire to dismantle obstacles present both on the supply and demand side. These efforts are further harmonised through the relevant organisations operating in the Brussels headquarters of the European Union, supporting the EU notification processes of the Hungarian projects,

Members signing the agreement are: APEH (Hungarian Tax Authority), BellResearch, Delta Group, Prime Minister’s Office – E-Government Center, EnterNet Invest, Information and Telecommunication Work Group of FIDESZ (political party - Hungarian Civic Union), HP, Invitel., Ministry of Telecommunication, Transportation and Energy, The Hungarian Post, Magyar Telekom., Hungarian Commercial Bank (MKB), Netvisor, Nokia Siemens Networks, Skype, UPC Hungary, Alcatel-Lucent, Puskas Public Foundation, E-Hungary Centre and Sanofi-Aventis

As the premise of the Digital Social Agreement, in 2009 the Forum prepared a detailed study titled „Discussion Paper on Broadband Services” to initiate continuous professional dialogue between professionals of the state administration, service providers, civil organizations and the research sector to put an end to the obstacles to the spreading of broadband services. One of the most important statements of the paper is that broadband indexes of Hungary, coverage, prices, quality and competition are close to the EU average, at the same time, there is a serious lag among both the population and SMBs in using broadband services. It is due to the low level of digital literacy, lack of motivation and low level of digital self-confidence.

Broadband Forum developed its 2010 strategy along with Digital Agenda, the EU’s infocommunication strategy, and with the consideration of nation-specific aspects. Concrete actions plans were determined on the basis of Hungarian best practices and special projects, in close cooperation with members:

• e-health project – distance diagnosis and healing, prevention
• development of electronic administration
• preparation of the European Broadband Map (Mapping Broadband)
• domestic and EU measurement of Broadband Service Quality (Broadband Quality)
• support of projects creating real broadband
• foundation of the BPI (Broadband Performance Index) Awards, organisation of the award gala, distributing the first awards
• education, calling attention, information service: increasing consumer awareness, talking to target groups whom are not yet members of digital society, through publications and programs
• preparing a study in parallel with the EU Digital Agenda for the country: “Digital Hungary 2010”

“We are delighted that several companies and organizations joined the case of spreading broadband technology by signing the Digital Social Agreement. This technology can speed up economic progress by  playing crucial role in increasing the number of investments, creating job opportunities, and in the long-term contributing to overall economic boom” – said Ákos Bóna, Director of Broadband Forum Responsible for EU affairs.

The presentation on Digital Agenda by Guido Acchioni (DG INFSO) can be downloaded: HU event- 17-3-2010.ppt

Further information:

Ákos Bóna, Director of Broadband Forum Responsible for EU affairs
E-mail:
Tel.: +36 30 6266596

17 March 2010