Digi to raise prices in Hungary

Digi will raise its monthly fees by 14.9% for TV, wired internet and telephone (wired voice services) for both residential and business customers, which is less than last year's 17.6% annual average inflation.

The correction will also affect discounts on Digi's fixed-term contracts and discounts for subscribers opting for electronic invoicing (e-pack), which will both increase by 14.9%.

The tariff change will take effect on 1 May.

The tariffs of the DIGIMobil and DIGINet Active 50 tariff packages, to be modified from 1 March 2024, will not be affected by the tariff adjustment just announced.

Last year, Digi raised its prices twice, the first time from 1 January 2023, citing the need to adjust their prices to the macroeconomic situation, as the general price increase and the energy crisis had significantly increased their costs. At that time, the price of subscriptions for customers with a stand-alone wired internet service increased by HUF 2,000, the price of services for customers with a satellite-only (DTH) subscription by HUF 1,000, while packages for customers with two or three wired services increased by HUF 1,500. Subsequently, from 1 May 2023, Digi raised its prices by 14.5%, in line with inflation in 2022.

Here's just an example of Digi's price increases over the last few years:

Other competitors have already announced this year's price increases. Vodafone announced last year that it would increase its subscription tariffs by 15.4% from March this year, and Telekom announced in January that it would increase its prices by 15%, also from March.

We didn't have to wait long for Yettel's announcement either, as the operator will increase its tariffs by 15.3% for residential and small business customers with billed subscriptions from 5 March 2024, which will affect the monthly tariffs for residential subscriptions.

In principle, Vodafone could have raised its prices more, as they had previously said that the rate of the tariff adjustment was the average inflation of the period between 31 August and 1 September of the calendar year preceding the calendar year in question, which was 22.01 percent.

At Telekom, the general terms and conditions link price increases to the official annual inflation data of the Central Statistical Office (KSH). The average consumer price change in 2023 was 17.6%, with smaller price increases announced by Yettel and Digi. This indicates strong competition among domestic telecom operators.

Cover photo: MTI Photo/László Róka