The President of the NMHH presented the Dr. Magyari Endre awards in an unconventional way on the World Telecommunications and Information Society Day

Published: 17 May 2020

The domestic telecommunications systems performed well over the recent months - emphasized Monika Karas, President of the National Media and Infocommunications Authority (NMHH) in her speech at the symposium of the Széchenyi István University of Győr on the occasion of the 52nd World Telecommunication and Information Society Day on 17 May. The President of the NMHH expressed her thanks to the experts satisfying the increased demands and also announced the recipients of the Dr. Magyari Endre awards.

This year’s World Telecommunications and Information Society Day was fittingly celebrated through the means of the very communication devices it seeks to honour. The professional lectures prepared for the virtual symposium organised by the Széchenyi István University of Győr are available through the institute’s YouTube channel. In her words of welcome, the President of the NMHH, Monika Karas highlighted the fact that the recent months made us realise that not only are telecommunications networks closely intertwined with the operation of other sectors, but also that in the situation created by the coronavirus, digitalisation and networking are no longer an attractive alternative, but the only possible solution. The Internet is truly required for basic, everyday activities: working, studying, shopping and corresponding with our loved ones. The President touched on a number of subjects, including the roll-out of the mobile networks in 2014, as a result of which domestic coverage is still currently among the best in Europe as well as the sale of the frequency bands required for the 5G deployment, offering further opportunities for development.

The President of the NMHH expressed her thanks to all the experts responsible for operating the Hungarian telecommunications infrastructure smoothly without any shutdowns in the past few weeks, servicing the increased demands. Furthermore, the President announced that the Dr. Magyari Endre award will be presented to András Czuczy, head of the NMHH’s Frequency Licensing Unit, along with Iván Schmideg, member of the Expert Committee of the Scientific Association for Infocommunications. She congratulated the experts and expressed her regret that she could not present the award in person. The President of the National Media and Infocommunications Authority founded the Dr. Magyari Endre award in 2015 to recognise outstanding achievements in the development of the infocommunications market, which is presented every year on the World Telecommunications and Information Society Day. The award was named after Dr. Endre Magyari (1900-1968), one of the founders of Hungarian Radio broadcasting, who was the first to design a high-powered radio telephone transmitter and is also known for coining the Hungarian term for telecommunications.

As of 17 May, the lectures of several NMHH experts are available on the university’s YT channel as part of the virtual symposium: Director-General Janka Börcs provides more information on the sale of the 5G frequencies, while István Bartolits, Head of the Technology Analysis Department of NMHH, analyzes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the telecommunication market. Péter Kollár, representative of the Frequency and Identifier Management Department, discusses the possibilities for the modernisation of mobile networks, Balázs Gyulai and József Krausz, engineers of the Radio Monitoring Unit, share statistics on the electromagnetic exposure of the civil population and finally, Zsigmond Ritoók, head of the NMHH’s pubic broadband measurement centre, presents its operation.

The World Telecommunication and Information Society Day has been celebrated for fifty years since 1969, commemorating the foundation of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) on 17 May 1865. Hungary is a founding member of the ITU.

András Czuczy, head of the NMHH’s Frequency Licensing Unit was already involved in the foundation of the NMHH’s legal predecessor, which seceded from Magyar Posta. In addition to the experts of the telecommunications industry, his decades-long, outstanding work was also witnessed by the organisers of the Sziget Festival, Balaton Sound, World Aquatics Championship (FINA) and Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix events, who could rely on his expertise in providing frequencies that were indispensable for staging these mass events. His career, which was exceptional even in international comparison, serves as an inspiring example for the new generations of professionals.

Iván Schmideg, who previously served as the head of the Infocommunications Authority’s international unit made outstanding achievements in the correspondence with partner authorities and European Union organisations. Subsequent to his retirement, he provided assistance to the NMHH and its legal predecessor as an external advisor with his expertise in the fields of roaming regulation and digital switchover. He is currently an active member of the Expert Committee of the Scientific Association for Infocommunications. His unparalleled, 65-year career is a fine example, in terms of its duration, content and quality, for future and current professionals alike.