BTK President Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan spoke at the “25th Anniversary of the Internet in Turkey” event organized by METU. Providing information on the current state of the internet in Turkey over 25 years, President Sayan emphasized that they are meticulously carrying out their work to provide fast, uninterrupted, and secure services.
The “25th Anniversary of the Internet in Turkey” event, organized by the Middle East Technical University “nic.tr” Domain Name Management at the METU Cultural and Convention Center, was attended by Information Technologies and Communication Authority President Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan, “nic.tr” Domain Name Manager Atilla Özgit, TÜBİTAK Vice President Orkun Hasekioğlu, RTÜK Member Taha Yücel, METU Rector Mustafa Verşan Kök, academics, and students.
Speaking at the program where the changes the internet has undergone since it began to be used were described, BTK President Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan said, “Twenty-five years ago, under the umbrella of a ‘research project’ initiated by METU and TÜBİTAK, the internet, to which our country was connected from one end, could not be contained in its shell, just like in the rest of the world. Today, the internet has gone beyond being just a ‘project’ and has entered almost every area of our social and economic life, becoming one of the fundamental infrastructures for development and growth, and has almost joined the ranks of our basic needs like bread and water. In fact, in some countries, internet access is considered one of the basic human rights.”
Stating that the number of internet users in Turkey has reached 54.3 million in 25 years, Sayan said, “The number of internet users worldwide has exceeded 4 billion, and an estimated 1.5 million people access the internet for the first time every day. If we express the development of the internet over the years with numbers; the number of broadband internet subscribers, which was around 6 million in 2008, reached 68.9 million by the end of 2017. Mobile broadband service, which started to be used in July 2009, had nearly 57 million mobile computer and mobile internet subscribers by the end of 2017. In 2017, the general upward trend in the number of internet subscribers continued, and the annual growth rate of total internet subscribers was 10.6%.”
WE ARE WORKING TO BE AMONG THE FIRST COUNTRIES TO ADOPT 5G
Mentioning the 4.5G service that started to be used in Turkey on April 1, 2016, Sayan shared the following information with the participants: “We are continuing our work without slowing down, in collaboration between the public sector, universities, and the private sector, to be one of the first countries to use 5G. In the fourth quarter of 2017, the xDSL subscriber count approached 8.7 million, while the fiber subscriber count exceeded 2.3 million. In the fourth quarter of 2017, fixed broadband internet subscribers' average monthly usage was at 90.7 GB, mobile broadband subscribers' at 3.5 GB, while 4.5G subscribers with compatible devices and SIM cards recorded 6.3 GB data usage. By the end of 2017, our country ranked 18th among all countries worldwide in terms of total internet users.”
WE ARE WORKING TO BE PRODUCERS RATHER THAN CONSUMERS OF TECHNOLOGY
Drawing attention to the fact that information technologies are changing at a dizzying pace, President Sayan said, “Various education projects are being produced for conscious internet use in society. As BTK, with our efforts, we provide training and support to young people to be producers of technology rather than consumers. Despite all the difficulties we have faced in recent history, internet usage trends are encouragingly increasing. However, there are problems we need to overcome. The ‘Digital Divide’ still stands before us, both between regions, genders, and socio-economic groups within our country and between our country and other developed countries.”
Pointing out that for the generation born into the internet, called “digital natives,” the internet has become a way of life, Sayan said, “At this very point, BTK has important duties and responsibilities. To increase domestic and national products, especially to be one of the first countries to use 5G, the Information Technologies and Communication Authority is working with full force together with the relevant public representatives, universities, and sector representatives here today.”
DISCUSSIONS ONGOING FOR “NIC.TR” MANAGEMENT
In his speech, President Sayan also stated that they are holding discussions with METU “nic.tr,” which is still managing “.tr,” for the management of “.tr” domain names to be carried out in collaboration between BTK and METU.
Emphasizing that ensuring the security of the internet is as much a priority for BTK as its speed and uninterrupted service, Sayan provided information about the work done: “Under the coordination of the National Cyber Incident Response Center (USOM), which operates within our institution, we are continuing the necessary work to ensure our national cyber security. In addition, we have awareness-raising efforts to protect internet users from illegal content and turn them into conscious users, as well as educational activities for children and families. In fact, the ‘International Child and Information Security Congress’ is currently ongoing under the auspices of our institution.”
Sayan said, “Hopefully, we will complete the process in the next few months and begin work to take our domain name sector even further in collaboration with METU for ‘.tr’ domain name management.”
President Sayan concluded his speech by saying, “I describe the dedicated staff of METU and TÜBİTAK who worked on the project to connect our country to the internet 25 years ago as the unsung heroes of our information technologies history, and I thank them for their contributions on this occasion.”