<nettime> Hungary: Everybody Wants Cheaper Internet

[aiahrp@nyoc.hu]

Hungary: Everybody Wants Cheaper Internet


By Bori Kiss

Index, 3 May, 2002

http://index.hu/tech/uzlet/olcsnet/


The Hungarian Internet user community has been in a state of 
revolt since Monday (29 April, 2002), when Matav, the country's 
largest telephone company announced that flate-rate Internet 
discount packages will be withdrawn. Internet users organize a 
demonstration and a boycott, and collect signatures in protest 
against Matav. Consumer rights authorities are organizing talks, 
Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) hopes Matav will "reconsider" its 
step. 

Next week National Consumer Rights Union (OFE) will initiate a 
talk with several organizations concerned, in the interest of having 
Internet access possible on the largest scale at the lowest price 
possible. OFE managing president Istvan Garai told Hungarian 
News Agency (MTI): consumer rights have been hurt by Matav 
cancelling its service called "Mindenkinek." The managing 
president said the participants of telecommunications market 
should find a solution that is favorable for both service providers and 
consumers.

Istvan Garai admitted that a market-based service provider cannot 
be expected to remain without recovered expenses. He said it is 
also a national interest that consumers - especially young people - 
have acces to the Internet, to the possibilities offered by the 
Internet at a price lower than the present one, thus the state should 
take initiatives for making Internet usage cheaper, writes MTI. 

Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP) wants the step to be 
reconsidered 

"We hope that the management of Matav will reconsider the 
announced decision and will find a solution for providing a reduced-
price Internet access in the future," MSZP declared on Thursday. 
"We hope that the telecommunications service provider, being 
almost in a monopolistic position and having a profit of tens of 
billions of HUFs, will feel the weight of the responsibility it has to 
undertake inevitably for the sake of the future of national information 
society. In the interest of providing a cheap Internet access the 
new government will initiate talks with telecommunications 
providers," reads the announcement signed by Laszlo Madur, 
MSZP's minister of informatics nominee. 

Intenet users are organizing a demonstration 

In the chat forums of Index, Internet users started to organize a 
boycott and a demonstration against Matav. The day of the 
demonstration will be decided by an online poll. The date of the 
boycott has not been decided either, all supporters are asked not 
to use telephone and not to connect to the Internet on the to-be-
appointed day. The online petition, already mentioned in one of our 
earlier articles, has been signed by more than 5.000 people, in 
protest against Matav's decision. The author of the petition, 
remaining anonymous, said, in answer to our question, the petition 
will be sent online to the competent authorities within Matav. 

Matav does not expect attacks 

One of our readers claims Matav management urgently odered 
safety actions in Matav internal networks (changing passwords, 
monitoring visitors, reinforcements) because they are afraid of 
possible hacker attacks after the termination of their reduced-price 
Internet service. Matav authorities, however, denied the report. 

Matav assistant manager of security Laszlo Keresztes, in answer 
to our question, said there were no special security measures 
taken related to the withdrawal of "Mindenkinek" service package. 
He said passwords are often changed in the startegic infomatic 
systems of Matav and also for internal users. 

Axelero increases its security 

The inside email sent by Axelero to its workers reveals that the 
Internet servicee provider is afraid of both online and offline attacks, 
thus several security steps will be taken. "On the one hand, you 
will see that the guards at the gate will carry out their task more 
strictly. On the other, to prevent possible online attacks, in the 
area of informatics severe security measures will come into force, 
so it is possible that our colleagues will execute your requests with 
more difficulty, only after proper security checks," reads the letter. 
PR manager of the company Ferenc Pohly told us they had 
increased security indeed since Matav's announcement on 
Monday. 


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Note: since the publication of the article the online petition has 
been signed by more than 12.000 people. The date of the phone 
boycott is 17 May, the day of the demonstration is still not 
decided. 

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Translated and posted with the permission of the author. More 
information about the topic: http://english.nyoc.hu 

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