The 6th Workshop and Executive Board Meeting of the End-to-End Domestic and National 5G Communication Network Project was held online with the support of HTK, BTK, OSTİM, and TÜBİTAK.
Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan, who participated in the program, emphasized the great importance of using domestic and national technologies in 5G efforts, recalling President Erdoğan's words: "We cannot transition to 5G without establishing a domestic 5G technology infrastructure."
Drawing attention to the targets set on this path, Sayan stated, "As part of the National Technology Initiative, we continue our work in line with our goal to be among the first countries to transition to 5G and beyond technologies with domestic and national products, and the vision outlined by our esteemed President. As a nation, in pursuit of the Turkey envisioned in our 2023 goals—a Turkey proficient in science, technology, and innovation, productive, and capable of increasing its added value through its own intellectual power—we persist in our efforts with a human-centered approach that values our citizens and aligns with the spirit of the New Turkey."
Deputy Minister Sayan: We Should Contribute to Reducing Our Country's Current Account Deficit
Sayan noted that under the "End-to-End Domestic and National 5G Communication Network Project," conducted by HTK member companies and supported by TÜBİTAK Presidency, critical network hardware and software specific to this technology—such as 5G New Radio, 5G Core Network, 5G management support software, and 5G virtualization platform—are being developed using domestic and national capabilities.
Emphasizing that with these developed products, they aim not only to capture a share of the domestic market, which averages 1.6 billion lira annually and is growing each year, but also to target foreign markets by exporting domestic products, Sayan said, "The global telecommunications market is estimated to be around 200 billion dollars annually. We must effectively leverage both 5G technologies and their interactions with vertical sectors to claim our share of this pie and thereby contribute to reducing our country's current account deficit."
President Karagözoğlu: Domestic and National Products Are Also Important for Our Country's Cybersecurity
BTK President Ömer Abdullah Karagözoğlu also stated that mobile operators have a significant role to play in the success and continuity of domestically and nationally developed products.
Karagözoğlu said, "While I appreciate the support our operators have provided to this project so far, I want to remind them that their duties are not over. I kindly ask them to view the development and use of these products as part of their operations and to continue their support with increasing momentum."
Highlighting the importance of operators prioritizing domestic products in procurement, Karagözoğlu stated, "Developing and using domestic and national products is not only economically vital but also critically important for ensuring our country's security in cyberspace. For this reason, regarding 4.5G investments, we have prepared a draft on the procedures and principles for examining and supervising the hardware and software investments to be used in operators' networks, and presented it for public opinion. Taking into account the feedback received, we will take the necessary steps within the framework of our institution's policies."
Following the speeches, 5G demos were conducted in the laboratories of Türk Telekom-Ümraniye, Turkcell-Kartal, Vodafone-Maslak, and HAVELSAN-Ankara.
Subsequently, data sharing was performed over 5G by connecting to Istanbul Technical University (İTÜ) Teknokent on the European side via the 5G Base Station Radio Link at Yuşa Hill on the Anatolian side of Istanbul.