Digital Transformation in Rural Hungary: Infrastructure, Skills and Uptake Across Regions

Rural digitalization in Hungary from 2010 to 2024 is examined, focusing on infrastructure, digital skills, and sectoral uptake. Using secondary data, an interrupted time-series model determines national household internet access, and a regional panel includes post-2020 slope terms. Nationally, uptake continued and accelerated after 2020, while regional trajectories remained broadly parallel, indicating persistent yet narrowing territorial differences. Market indicators point to a capacity-heavy fixed network with county-level disparities, suggesting that affordability and competencies shape the remaining rural gaps. There is a need for place-based policies that jointly target last-mile infrastructure, affordability, and skills to convert access into practical use in rural economies.