Pál Horváth

He began his professional career in the data transmission development and service area of Magyar Posta in 1973. He took a leading role in the development of digital circuit-switched and later packet-switched data communication networks.
From 1986, he headed the telephone switching technology department of the general management. Under his leadership, the preparation and introduction of the operating system for digital telephone exchanges was realized. In 1989, he received an award for creating the first stored program-controlled digital telephone exchange operating system.

In 1990, he became Deputy Chief Operating Officer and then Chief Executive Officer of the Hungarian Telecommunications Company (Matáv). The results of his term as CEO were the establishment of a new foundation for the company's structure, operations and service provider behavior, the launch of telephone development that enabled the mass satisfaction of pending telephone needs, the construction of the national optical backbone network, the digitalization of the domestic telephone network, and the successful privatization of Matáv.

Since 1995, he has been the Regional Director for Central and Eastern Europe at the London-based satellite telecommunications company Inmarsat. He has dealt with the legal, technical and business issues of the introduction and utilization of satellite mobile communications in 33 countries in his region.

Since 1998, he has been the CEO of Pantel Rt., which he co-founded. Under his leadership, Pantel built the country's second optical backbone network, expanded it beyond the country's borders, and introduced the most advanced business communication services of the era.

In 2003, he founded Anotel Kft. From 2004 to 2008, he was the managing director and CEO of Actel Kft. and then Zrt., established by Anotel and its foreign professional investor partner, the Cypriot state telecommunications company. Actel implemented the infrastructure sharing introduced in the European Union's market regulation system to promote market competition.

Since 2008, he has been engaged in telecommunications regulation and development consulting, network planning, and project management. He publishes and provides advice on new optical network material technologies, new network construction technologies, network construction automation, and construction planning and control. He plays a role in the domestic acceptance of mini-tube optical network construction.

Roles in professional bodies: Vice-Chairman of the Development Sector Study Committee of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) (1995-1998), member of the Presidential Advisory Board of the Hungarian Telecommunication Authority (HIF) (1996-1998), member of the Telecommunications Engineering Qualification Committee (TMMB) (1998-2002), member of the Informatics and Information Technology Expert Committee (IHSZB) (2003-2005), Secretary-General of the Hungarian Telecommunication and Information Technology Scientific Association (HTE) (2006-2011), Chairman of the HTE Awards Committee (2011-2014), Chairman of the HTE Accounting Committee (2014-2020).

His awards: Silver Medal of the Order of Merit for Labor (1989); Knight's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary (2005); Tivadar Puskás Award (HTE, 1995 and 2011), Lifetime Achievement Award (HTE, 2020).