UPC Brand to Disappear from Hungary

The UPC brand currently used by Vodafone Hungary will be phased out from the Hungarian market from April, hwsw.hu reports, citing Vodafone Chief Executive Officer Amanda Nelson. The move comes nearly one year after the British telecommunications giant acquired Liberty Global's cable business in the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary and Romania. Liberty was present in the Hungarian, Romanian and Czech markets under the UPC brand name, while in Germany it used the Unitymedia brand. Starting from next April, Vodafone Hungary will no longer be allowed to use the UPC brand name for landline services, these will be provided under the Vodafone name. The unification of the brands has been part of the plans from the outset, especially because Liberty only authorized the new owner to use the UPC and Unitymedia brand names for a three-year period after the acquisition, according to the news portal. The European Commission granted approval for Vodafone to acquire Liberty Global's cable business in the four countries in July in exchange for full compliance with commitments previously undertaken by Vodafone.