Budapest is among 100 European cities picked by the European Commission to participate in a program for 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030, Mayor Gergely Karácsony said in a post on Facebook.
Karácsony said the cities of Miskolc (180 km northeast of Budapest) and Pécs (170 km southwest) were also picked for the program, dubbed the Cities Mission.
Read more: HU: Budapest among 100 cities chose for EC Smart City Program
Hungary's digital economy and society have developed in line with the EU average over the past few years, the European Commission said in its latest Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) report on Tuesday. Hungary ranks 23rd out of 28 EU member states overall.
Hungary performs best, slightly above the EU average, in the broadband connectivity dimension, thanks to its widespread adoption of fast and ultrafast broadband and to its high coverage of next generation access (NGA) and ultrafast broadband infrastructure. Hungary ranks 14th in broadband internet access and 12th in 5G readiness, according to the report. Although fixed broadband coverage stagnated at around 94% of homes, fast broadband coverage increased to 87%. Well above half of homes subscribe to at least 30 Mbps (58%), above the EU average of 41%. In addition, Hungary continues to score well on ultrafast connectivity, mainly owing to its widespread cable networks: coverage stands at 82% (compared to 60% in the EU as a whole).
Read more: Hungary's digital progress in line with EU average
The sector exported software and services worth 300 billion forints (EUR 955m) in 2014, Gabor Major told MTI.
On the other hand, he listed factors hindering growth in the ICT sector such as the ten thousand unfilled vacancies.
Read more: HU: ICT sector set to double exports of software, services
Hungarian officials have confirmed that the country will launch a biometric eID card system which can also be used for electronic signatures on e-government services.
Local media reports that a social consultation will precede the drafting of the relevant law before the cards are introduced next January.
The aim is to bring public administration in line with more customer-friendly solutions, not only in terms of delivering single-window government services across the country, but also public eServices.
Read more: HU: Legislative review to facilitate the implementation of electronic public services