Classification of electronic communications services renewed

Published: 4 November 2024

On 1 January 2025, the National Media and Infocommunications Authority (hereinafter: “Authority”) will introduce a new classification system for electronic communications networks and services.

Pursuant to Article 52(2)(a) of Act C of 2003 on Electronic Communications (hereinafter: "Electronic Communications Act"), the Authority shall keep a public official register on providers of electronic communications services and of the services they provide.

Pursuant to Article 76(4) of the Electronic Communications Act, the Authority shall register the service provider by the system of classification adopted and published by the Authority for the organization of electronic communications networks and services.

As part of the transposition of the European Electronic Communications Code into the Hungarian legal system, the Hungarian regulatory environment has been adapted to the requirements of the European Union.

In line with EU harmonisation, the Authority has carried out a complete review of the content of the classification of electronic communications networks and services, taking into account new technical requirements imposed by technological developments.

As a result, the Authority has developed a new classification system which will be introduced from 1 January 2025.

The Authority publishes the new classification system, including the structure, designations and technical specifications of electronic communications services, and a table showing the correspondence between the old and the new classification system for each service, in the Annex to this Notice.

Cases of change

The introduction of the new classification system may affect electronic communications services (hereinafter: “services”) listed in the public register as follows:

  1. The old and new names of the service type are the same,
  2. The old and new names of the service type are different,
  3. Several old services are merged under one service type or an old service is split into several new service types,
  4. The service will be discontinued under the new service types,
  5. A new service type will be introduced (a new service under the new service type can be registered in the official register from 1 January 2025).

Detailed information on the above, the regulatory measures required by the introduction of the new classification system and the actions to be taken by service providers, where appropriate, are set out below.

1. The old and new names of the service type are the same

Some service names will remain unchanged in the new classification (e.g. Leased line subscriber service).

There are no regulatory measures or service provider actions to be taken in this case.

2. The old and new names of the service type are different

For some services, the names of the services will change under the new classification system compared to the old classification system (new name for Fixed telephone service: Fixed telephone service or voice communications service).

The Authority shall ex officio transfer the change to its register.

The change of name of the subscriber service(s) concerned must be included in the next amendment of the General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter: “GTC”).

3. Several old services are merged under one service type or an old service is split into several new service types

Two or more services under the old classification system will be merged into one service type under the new classification system (e.g. name of Other telephone services and VPN-based voice services: Other telephone service or voice communications service), and one service will be split into several service types (names of Free-to-air broadcasting subscriber services: Free-to-air television broadcasting subscriber service, Free-to-air radio broadcasting subscriber service).

The Authority will ex officio enter the change in its register and will also notify service providers of the changes to services before the new classification system is introduced. The change in the designation of the relevant subscriber service(s) resulting from the introduction of the new classification system will need to be reflected in the next revision of the GTC.

4. The service will be discontinued under the new service types

The introduction of the new classification system will require the removal from the official register of services that were registered under the old classification system but are no longer included in the new classification system.

The Authority will notify the service providers concerned before the introduction of the new classification system.

Following the notification, the Authority shall, unless prevented from doing so by the service provider’s declaration or if no such declaration is provided, remove the service or, if the service provider only provides such a service, the service provider from the Authority’s register with effect from 31 December 2024.

With the introduction of the new classification system, the following services will be affected by the deletion:
  • Internet call termination traffic service
  • Internet call origination traffic service
  • Interconnection service for data transmission
  • Access traffic services
  • Internet direct access traffic service (reverse charge)
  • Local loop unbundling service
  • Call card access service (reverse charge)
  • Additional interconnection and access services
  • Transmission routes services
  • Carrier selection settings service
  • Other additional interconnection and access services

If the service provider concerned by the deletion from the official register wishes to provide a service under the new classification system, it can notify the service as described in point 5.

5. Notification of services belonging to the new service types

Along with the new classification system, new service types will also be introduced (e.g. Number-based voice over IP service).

Services under the new service type can be notified from 1 January 2025.

5.1. Receipt and processing of notifications

The new classification system will enter into force on 1 January 2025.

Accordingly, the official IT system for managing the public registers of electronic communications service providers and the services they provide will be adapted from that date to receive and process the notifications required in connection with the introduction of the new classification system and to provide IT support for the registration procedures based on them.

In view of the above, if the service provider intends to provide a service to be introduced with the new classification system, the notification may be submitted to the Authority from 1 January 2025.

5.2. The rate and method of payment of the administrative service fee

If the service provider intends to provide a service to be introduced with the new classification system, the service provider will be liable to pay a fee for the notification.

Details on the administrative service fee for the notification and the method of payment are available at the following link: Procedural information material on the notification of electronic communications providers and/or services

6. More information

If you have any questions about the introduction of the new classification system, you can obtain further information, preferably by providing your telephone number at the servicesregister@nmhh.hu e-mail address.

Related documents

  1. Subscriber Services
    1. Number-based interpersonal communications service
      1. Telephone service or voice communications service
        1. Fixed telephone service or voice communications service
        2. Nomadic telephone service or voice communications service
        3. Mobile telephone service or voice communications service
        4. Other telephone service or voice communications service
      2. Number-based voice over IP service
      3. Other number-based interpersonal communications service
    2.  Internet access service
      1. Fixed Internet access service
      2. Nomadic Internet access service
      3. Mobile Internet access service
      4. Satellite Internet access service
      5. Other Internet access service
    3.  Data transmission subscriber service
      1. Leased line subscriber service
      2. VPN-based service – non-leased line
      3. Transmission service used to provide machine-to-machine (M2M) services
      4. Other data transmission subscriber service
    4. Broadcasting subscriber service
      1. Fixed broadcasting subscriber service
        1. Fixed television broadcasting subscriber service
        2. Fixed radio broadcasting subscriber service
      2. Free-to-air broadcasting subscriber service
        1. Free-to-air television broadcasting subscriber service
        2. Free-to-air radio broadcasting subscriber service
      3. Satellite broadcasting subscriber service
        1. Satellite television broadcasting subscriber service
        2. Satellite radio broadcasting subscriber service
      4. Mobile broadcasting subscriber service
      5. Other broadcasting subscriber service
    5. Other subscriber service
  2. Network Services
    1. Call traffic service
      1. Call termination traffic service
        1. Fixed call termination
        2. Mobile call termination
        3. Other call termination
      2. Transit service
      3. Other service related to interconnection and traffic services
    2. Data transmission network service
      1. Leased line network service
      2. Bitstream access
      3. SMS termination
      4. Data exchange service
      5. Other data transmission network service
    3. Broadcasting network service
      1. Free-to-air broadcasting network service
        1. Terrestrial television broadcasting network service
        2. Terrestrial radio broadcasting network service
      2. Distribution network service
      3. Multiplex service
      4. Application program interface (API) access service
      5. Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) access service
      6. Free-to-air satellite broadcasting network service
        1. Satellite television broadcasting network service
        2. Satellite radio broadcasting network service
      7. Other broadcasting network service
    4. Network sharing for a virtual service provider
    5. Roaming on a mobile radio telephone network
    6. Network operation
    7. Other network service
  3. Other Electronic Communications Services
Name Term
1. Subscriber Services Publicly available electronic communications services other than network services where network service means provision of access services for another service provider or undertaking and ancillary services required for the provision of these services.
1.1. Number-based interpersonal communications service A subscriber service, interpersonal communications service where the connection is established with assigned numbering resources, namely a number or numbers in national or international numbering plans, or which enables communication with a number or numbers in national or international numbering plan, where interpersonal communications service means a service normally provided to others for remuneration over electronic communications networks that enables direct interpersonal and interactive exchange of information between a finite number of persons, whereby the persons initiating or participating in the communication determine the recipient or recipients of the information exchange. Interpersonal communication services exclude services that enable interactive and interpersonal communication merely as a minor ancillary feature that is intrinsically linked to another service. A communications feature could be considered to be minor importance where its objective utility for an end-user is very limited and where it is in reality barely used by end-users.
1.1.1. Telephone service or voice communications service A number-based interpersonal communications service that enables initiating and receiving calls, directly or indirectly, through a number or numbers in a national or international numbering plan.
1.1.1.1. Fixed telephone service or voice communications service A telephone service or voice communications service where the service is made available through a fixed subscriber access point.
1.1.1.2. Nomadic telephone service or voice communications service A telephone service or voice communications service where the service is made available not only at a fixed subscriber access point but also at multiple different geographical locations (multiple different subscriber access points, but only one may be used at a time). The service does not ensure continuous use in large spaces while on the move.
1.1.1.3. Mobile telephone service or voice communications service A telephone service or voice communications service provided over a mobile radio telephone network where the service enables two-way communication for a user moving in a large space within the service area.
1.1.1.4. Other telephone service or voice communications service Any telephone services or voice communications service that does not fall into any of the categories listed in Sections 1.1.1.1 to 1.1.1.3. This includes, for example, satellite number-based interpersonal communications services where subscriber equipment is connected to a satellite in geostationary orbit (GEO) or low Earth orbit (LEO) instead of a ground base station.
1.1.2. Number-based voice over IP service A number-based interpersonal communications service for voice communications that does not assign a calling number to the service, but enables initiating calls to a number or numbers in national or international numbering plans.
1.1.3. Other number-based interpersonal communications service Any number-based interpersonal communications service that does not fall into any of the categories listed in Sections 1.1.1 to 1.1.2. This includes, for example, image or text transmission services that are number-based interpersonal communications services for the transmission of moving images, still images or text, for which a subscriber agreement can be concluded with the service provider without using any other electronic communications services.
1.2. Internet access service A subscriber service that provides access to the internet, and thereby connectivity to virtually all endpoints of the internet, irrespective of the network technology and terminal equipment used;
1.2.1. Fixed Internet access service An Internet access service where the service is made available through a fixed subscriber access point.
1.2.2. Nomadic Internet access service An Internet access service where the service is made available not only at a fixed subscriber access point but also at multiple different geographical locations (multiple different subscriber access points, but only one may be used at a time). The service does not ensure continuous use in large spaces while on the move.
1.2.3. Mobile Internet access service An Internet access service provided over a mobile radio telephone network where the service ensures continuous use in a large space while on the move within the service area.
1.2.4. Satellite Internet access service An Internet access service where subscriber equipment is connected to a satellite in geostationary orbit (GEO) or low Earth orbit (LEO) instead of a ground base station.
1.2.5. Other Internet access service Any Internet access service that does not fall into any of the categories listed in Sections 1.2.1 to 1.2.4.
1.3. Data transmission subscriber service A subscriber service for the transmission of data between network termination points and the provision of the necessary connectivity.
1.3.1. Leased line subscriber service A data transmission subscriber service that provides physically or logically dedicated (reserved exclusively for the data traffic of the given  connection) and typically symmetric (the same in both directions between individual network termination points) data transmission capacity between fixed network termination points. This includes VPN (virtual private network) based data transmission services that meet the above characteristics.
1.3.2. VPN-based service – non-leased line A data transmission subscriber service provided over a virtual private network which is not a leased line subscriber service and ensures communications between multiple network termination points using the public electronic communications network, protected from external access.
1.3.3. Transmission service used to provide machine-to-machine (M2M) services A data transmission subscriber service where the machine-to-machine service involves the automatic transmission of data and information between devices or software-based applications, with limited human intervention or without it.
1.3.4. Other data transmission subscriber service Any data transmission subscriber service that does not fall into any of the categories listed in Sections 1.3.1 to 1.3.3.
1.4. Broadcasting subscriber service A subscriber service where the analogue or digital broadcast signals generated by the programme provider are forwarded from the programme provider to the receiving apparatus of the subscriber or user, independently of what transmission system or technology is applied. Broadcasting especially includes – though is not limited to – free-to-air broadcasting, satellite broadcasting, broadcasting via a hybrid optical-coaxial transmission system and the forwarding of programmes using the Internet Protocol through some transmission system if the nature or circumstances of the service are identical to those of broadcasting or if it replaces broadcasting implemented in any other manner. Broadcasting shall also mean broadcasting to which the subscriber can access for a special fee or for a fee paid for a package that also contains some other electronic communications service. Signal forwarding through a transmission system suitable for the connection of less than ten receiver apparatuses shall not qualify as broadcasting.
1.4.1. Fixed broadcasting subscriber service A broadcasting service where the service is made available through a fixed subscriber access point of the transmission system.
1.4.1.1. Fixed television broadcasting subscriber service A fixed broadcasting service for the transmission of an audiovisual media service.
1.4.1.2. Fixed radio broadcasting subscriber service A fixed broadcasting service for the transmission of a radio media service.
1.4.2. Free-to-air broadcasting subscriber service A broadcasting service, made conditional upon subscription or another form of prior individual authorisation, where analogue or digital radio or audiovisual media services are transmitted to the subscriber by means of a terrestrial broadcast transmission system using radio frequencies.
1.4.2.1. Free-to-air television broadcasting subscriber service A free-to-air broadcasting subscriber service for the transmission of an audiovisual media service.
1.4.2.2. Free-to-air radio broadcasting subscriber service A free-to-air broadcasting subscriber service for the transmission of a radio media service.
1.4.3. Satellite broadcasting subscriber service A broadcasting service, made conditional upon subscription or another form of prior individual authorisation, where analogue or digital radio or audiovisual media services are transmitted to the subscriber by means of a satellite transmission system.
1.4.3.1. Satellite television broadcasting subscriber service A satellite broadcasting service for the transmission of an audiovisual media service.
1.4.3.2. Satellite radio broadcasting subscriber service A satellite broadcasting service for the transmission of a radio media service.
1.4.4. Mobile broadcasting subscriber service A broadcasting service where the service is made available over a mobile radio telephone network, where the mobile radio telephone network is a terrestrial electronic communications network that ensures continuous use of the service for users moving in a large space.
1.4.5. Other broadcasting subscriber service Any broadcasting service that does not fall into any of the categories listed in Sections 1.4.1 to 1.4.4.
1.5. Other subscriber service Any subscriber service that does not fall into any of the categories listed in Sections 1.1 to 1.4.
2. Network Services Network service means provision of access services for another service provider or undertaking.
2.1. Call traffic service A network service used to transmit calls or provide the necessary connectivity to transmit calls.
2.1.1. Call termination traffic service A call traffic service for call transmission from the point of interconnection to the access point of the called subscriber, where call means a connection using a publicly available interpersonal communications service allowing two-way voice communication.
2.1.1.1. Fixed call termination Call termination where the access point of the called subscriber is located in a fixed network.
2.1.1.2. Mobile call termination Call termination where the access point of the called subscriber is located in a mobile radio telephone network.
2.1.1.3. Other call termination Call termination that does not fall into any of the categories in Sections 2.1.1.1 to 2.1.1.2.
2.1.2. Transit service A call traffic service that transfers calls between points of interconnection.
2.1.3. Other service related to interconnection and traffic services Services provided in connection with network interconnection and call traffic services other than those listed in Sections 2.1.1 to 2.1.2.
2.2. Data transmission network service A network service used to transmit data or provide the necessary connectivity to transmit data.
2.2.1. Leased line network service A data transmission service whereby the access provider establishes a network connection (leased line connection) to provide physically or logically dedicated (reserved exclusively for the data traffic of a connection) and typically symmetric (the same in both directions between termination points) data transmission capacity between fixed termination points and makes it available to other electronic communications service providers.
2.2.2. Bitstream access A two-way, high-speed digital network service for data transmission, where the access provider provides or shares the transmission capacity of its active network equipment with other electronic communications service providers, and which is not included in the scope of leased line network services.
2.2.3. SMS termination A data transmission service that consists of the delivery of text messages from the point of interconnection to the called subscriber’s access point, where the subscriber’s access point is in a mobile radio telephone network.
2.2.4. Data exchange service A data transmission service provided by a data exchange service provider, being either a natural person or a legal entity, through a data exchange centre, enabling the transmission of IP-based data traffic initiated or received by a natural person, a legal entity or any other organisation.
2.2.5. Other data transmission network service Any data transmission service that does not fall into any of the categories listed in Sections 2.2.1 to 2.2.4.
2.3. Broadcasting network service A network service whereby access services related to broadcasting are provided to another electronic communications or media service provider.
2.3.1. Free-to-air broadcasting network service Broadcasting, not subject to subscription or another form of prior individual authorisation, where analogue or digital radio or audiovisual media services are transmitted to the user by means of a terrestrial broadcast transmission system using radio frequencies.
2.3.1.1. Terrestrial television broadcasting network service Free-to-air broadcasting whereby television signals are transmitted to the user in multiplexes according to a digital broadcasting standard.
2.3.1.2. Terrestrial radio broadcasting network service Free-to-air broadcasting whereby radio media services are transmitted to the user by means of a terrestrial broadcast transmission system using radio frequencies.
2.3.2. Distribution network service Broadcasting where the signals produced by the media service provider are transmitted simultaneously to radio and television broadcasting stations or other transmission systems with unchanged content through a fixed (cable) network and on a terrestrial or satellite non-broadcasting radio communications network.
2.3.3. Multiplex service Broadcasting that produces and transmits a single standardised digital signal stream of radio and television broadcasts and other data signals, where multiplex means: a standardised flow of signals used for digital broadcasting and including television and radio programs, supplementary digital services, electronic communication services, and associated other identification signals and data.
2.3.4. Application program interface (API) access service Broadcasting that provides access to software interfaces between applications made available by broadcasters or service providers and resources available in advanced digital television equipment for digital television and radio services, where application programming interface (API) means the software interface between applications, made available by broadcasters or service providers, and the resources in the enhanced digital television equipment for digital television and radio services.
2.3.5. Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) access service Broadcasting that provides access to applications made available by broadcasters or service providers, allowing, in particular, thematic selection between programmes.
2.3.6. Free-to-air satellite broadcasting network service Broadcasting, not subject to subscription or another form of prior individual authorisation, where analogue or digital radio or audiovisual media services are transmitted to the user by means of a satellite transmission system. 
2.3.6.1. Satellite television broadcasting network service Free-to-air satellite broadcasting for the transmission of an audiovisual media service.
2.3.6.2. Satellite radio broadcasting network service Free-to-air satellite broadcasting for the transmission of a radio media service. 
2.3.7. Other broadcasting network service Broadcasting that does not fall into any of the categories listed in Sections 2.3.1 to 2.3.6.
2.4. Network sharing for a virtual service provider A network service that provides access to an electronic communications network for an electronic communications service provider without its own network (virtual service provider) for the purpose of providing subscriber services. This includes, in particular, service provided to mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs).
2.5. Roaming on a mobile radio telephone network Provision of network access to enable national and international roaming, where roaming on a mobile radio telephone network means the use by a subscriber of a mobile radio telephone network operator of the network of another mobile radio telephony provider or operator in such a way that the subscriber can use all or part of the services and calling methods used in the network of the electronic communications service provider providing subscriber access on the network used, without becoming a subscriber of that provider.
2.6. Network operation A network service consisting of the operation of an electronic communications network or part thereof for another provider, that does not fall into any of the categories listed in Sections 2.1 to 2.5.
2.7. Other network service Any network service that does not fall into any of the categories listed in Sections 2.1 to 2.6.
3. Other Electronic Communications Services Any electronic communications service that does not fall into any of the categories listed in Sections 1 and 2.