PRESS RELEASE
4iG Group to sell DIGI mobile infrastructure
Following a successful migration of subscribers to Vodafone network, the transaction affects the unexploited tower and radio network assets and spectrum usage rights
- 4iG Group rationalises its domestic mobile network portfolio as part of an integration strategy covering all its telecommunications companies.
- The Group announced today, its subsidiary Antenna Hungária Plc entered into an agreement to sell MIS Omega Mobilhálózat Ltd, which owns DIGI mobile infrastructure.
- The Company, which owns among other things, twothousand five hundred towers, active and passive radio network assets, as well as the rights and spectrum licences for the use of the 1800Mhz frequency band, is to be acquired by Pro-M Plc, a company owned by the Hungarian state. The transaction’s worth is 68 billion HUF.
- Thanks to the acquisition, Pro-M Plc, the government telecommunication operator of the EDR network, will gain access to a modern mobile telecommunications infrastructure to provide broadband data transmission services to law enforcement agencies, the Hungarian Defence Forces, and the Disaster Management services.
- The acquisition will significantly shorten the timeframe for the infrastructure and network development of the PPDR system under development by Pro-M.
Antenna Hungária Plc, owner of 4iG Group’s
telecommunication portfolio, signed the agreement with Pro-M Plc. on the sale
of DIGI Hungary mobile infrastructure – announced to the Budapest Stock
Exchange. MIS Omega Mobilhálózat Ltd, carved out from DIGI Távközlési Ltd in
May this year, owns the tower network, the owned and leased sites with the
entire infrastructure, as well as the active and passive radio network
equipment and mobile network infrastructure consisting of repeater stations
providing 4G services, so the spectrum usage rights and radio licences for the
use of the 1800 MHz frequency band.
4iG had been negotiating with several potential
buyers on the trade of DIGI's mobile network assets, of which Pro-M Pls’s offer
was accepted. The total transaction value of 68 billion HUF includes the cost
of one-year operation required by Pro-M Plc. and the costs of building the new
core network for the tower infrastructure. The buyer pays the purchase price in
three instalments until 31 July 2024.
One of the cornerstones of the integration
strategy of 4iG’s telecom business is the rationalisation and monetisation of
the existing infrastructure in the Group’s companies. To this end, 4iG Group
currently explores merger and outsourcing opportunities for its fixed
infrastructure in Hungary and passive mobile infrastructure in the Western
Balkans with a view to transform its telecoms business processes, improving
profitability, and raising capital.
Pro-M,
owned by the Hungarian State and a subsidiary of NISZ National Infocommunications Services
Company Ltd., is the telecommunications service provider for the
Hungarian emergency services. The acquisition of the broadband mobile data
infrastructure will enable Pro-M to implement its strategy efficiently and will
shorten the development period of the PPDR system for broadband mobile and
voice data services by several years. The new standby network is suitable for
the implementation of a standby radio frequency network of law enforcement
agencies, the Hungarian Defence Forces, and the Disaster Management services.
The infrastructure and the network will also enable Pro-M Zrt. to expand its
closed-chain segmented communication network services provided to gas,
electricity, and water utilities. The acquisition will improve the coverage and
availability of the existing infrastructure, while making communications more
secure.
Budapest, 30th June 2023
Background information:
4iG Group
4iG Plc., a Hungarian majority-owned company based in Budapest, Hungary
is the leading telecommunications and IT group in Hungary and the Western
Balkans, and a leading player in the knowledge-based digital economy. The
Budapest Stock Exchange listed capital market company's fresh and innovative
approach and its position as Hungary's leading IT systems integrator make the
Group a leading residential and business service provider in the region's
digital transformation. Thanks to its dynamic expansion strategy, 4iG has
become a dominant player in the Hungarian and Western Balkan telecoms markets.
The Group is continuously expanding its services, expertise and portfolio to
meet the changing needs and demands of the telecom and IT markets. 4iG Group
currently employs nearly 8,200 people. www.4ig.hu
Pro-M
Zrt.
Pro-M Zrt. has been providing government communications services since
2006, primarily to emergency users and defence organisations. However, the
services of the Unified Digital Radio System (EDR) are also provided to
critical infrastructures, high risk facilities, and national operators. Unlike
commercial networks, the EDR network provides a unique level of nationwide coverage,
guaranteed network availability, and voice communications with high data
security. Pro-M Zrt. will use the infrastructure it owns to expand the
capabilities of the current network and to develop complex voice, data, video,
and image services that respond to the needs of emergency users and critical
infrastructure. www.pro-m.hu
More
information:
Péter Elkán
Group Head of
Corporate Affairs and Communication
sajto
(@) 4ig.hu