August 15, 2017
BTK President Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan, speaking at the signing ceremony of the “5G Valley Open Test Field Cooperation Protocol,” said, “We are crowning our 17th year with the '5G Valley-Open Test Field'. As BTK, our goal is for our country to participate in this race, to be one of the first countries in the world to encounter 5G, and while doing so, to shift from a consumer position to a producer position.”
The “5G Valley Open Test Field Cooperation Protocol” was signed with all parties at the Information Technologies and Communication Authority’s 17th anniversary event. The signing ceremony, held at the BTK headquarters, was attended by ODTÜ Rector Prof. Dr. Mustafa Verşan Kök, Hacettepe University Rector Prof. Dr. A. Haluk Özen, İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University Rector Prof. Dr. Abdullah Atalar, Vodafone General Manager Colman Deegan, Türk Telekom Deputy General Manager Cengiz Doğan, and Turkcell General Manager Kaan Terzioğlu.
WE ARE CROWNING OUR 17TH YEAR WITH "5G VALLEY-OPEN TEST FIELD"
Expressing that they are crowning BTK’s 17th year with the "5G Valley-Open Test Field," Sayan stated, “As the Information Technologies and Communication Authority (BTK), our goal is for our country to participate in this race, to be one of the first countries in the world to encounter 5G, and while doing so, to shift from a consumer position to a producer position. In line with these goals, with the signing of the '5G Valley Open Test Field Cooperation Protocol,' the project to establish an open test field where R&D, product development, testing, and trials needed for 5G and Beyond can be conducted is being launched. Thus, as BTK, we will have reached another important milestone in our efforts to establish the 5G and Beyond ecosystem, in line with the goal of making Turkey one of the countries that adopts 5G mobile communication technology with the highest possible levels of domestic and national content at the earliest time.”
5G VALLEY-OPEN TEST FIELD WILL PROVIDE SOLUTIONS IN MANY AREAS
Sayan stated that with the project coming to life as the 5G Valley-Open Test Field, services, products, and applications will be developed for many industries, primarily communication, urbanism, transportation, health, and energy, in areas such as Hacettepe University Beytepe Campus, İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University and Middle East Technical University campuses, technoparks, BTK center and laboratory building, city hospitals, shopping malls, and other large public buildings. He said, "This area will not only encompass the communication sector but also vertical industries called those that will use communication technologies more extensively with 5G and Beyond technologies, such as information, entertainment, health, energy, transportation, and agriculture. Additionally, it is aimed to host nearly 100,000 university students who represent Turkey's future."
R&D, PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT, AND TESTS FOR 5G AND BEYOND TECHNOLOGIES WILL BE CONDUCTED
Sayan listed the innovations to be implemented through the cooperation of BTK, universities, and operators in the 5G Valley as follows: “An infrastructure will be established where R&D, product development, and tests for 5G and Beyond technologies can be conducted. Academics, researchers, PhD students, and startups—everyone producing technology in 5G—will be able to benefit from this open test field. The 5G Valley Open Test Field will provide new R&D opportunities for all stakeholders in the electronic communications sector. The Test Field will conduct effective research and projects in the context of public-university-operator-industry collaborations, create high value-added job opportunities for the ecosystem, and contribute to employment.”