TIHANY, HUNGARY. HCA/HCTA Conference. UPC will launch a digital cable service in Hungary in either the first quarter or half of 2008, according to several industry sources. It will be introduced on a gradual basis and is likely to include both HD and VOD in its offer. At present, only one of Hungary’s three leading MSOs – T-Kábel, part of the Magyar Telekom group – has introduced digital cable, and it has just over 35,000 subscribers. Consolidation is likely to step up a gear in Hungary’s cable industry in the near future, with one possible deal, rumoured at Tihany, being a takeover of T-Kábel by Warburg Pincus-backed FiberNet.
