5G Launch Held at Istanbul Airport Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoğlu, who spoke at the opening of the program, stated that Turkey's 5G journey has begun.
The three GSM operators serving in Turkey, for the first time, brought 5G speeds to passengers' service at a launch ceremony attended by Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoğlu. Providing information about the work related to 5G, Minister Karaismailoğlu said, “We are at Istanbul Airport. It is a project where 10 million lira investment was made on 75 million square meters, which will pay 25 billion Euros in rent to the state. Istanbul Airport has no award it hasn't received, no record it hasn't broken.”
Karaismailoğlu announced that the necessary preparations for providing 5G signals in certain areas of the airport have been completed, saying, “Today, here at the stands set up by our domestic technology companies, we will see the stage Turkey has reached in 5G. The low level of 5G-supported devices in our country will increase as the number of 5G-supporting devices grows, allowing citizens to benefit more from 5G. Significant progress has been made so far. We will cover this path with even bigger steps. We will increase our investments to accelerate the transition to 5G. Our ministry and relevant institutions have provided the necessary support until today and will continue to do so. Operators also need to demonstrate determination. We see that the localization rate, which was 1% in the first investment period of 4.5G, has exceeded 33%. Localization of critical components for 5G and beyond technologies is also our priority. From now on, we will implement the most appropriate solutions by taking the views of our sector stakeholders.”
Touching on the point Turkey has reached in the technology field, Karaismailoğlu said, “Middle-aged and older generations will see where Turkey came from in technology to get here. In the information and communication sector, we grew by 21% in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the same period of the previous year. We increased fiber to 478 thousand kilometers. We raised the number of fixed broadband lines from 20 thousand to 18 million. In the first quarter of 2022, we increased fixed internet usage by 25% and mobile by 35%. We put Türksat 5B into service. We are also providing broadband internet services. With our investments, we contributed more than 520 billion dollars to the national income. In this process, we planned 68 billion dollars in communication investments. In the short term, we will reach 100% mobile broadband subscriber density and deliver internet service to every home.”
Minister Karaismailoğlu: 6G Studies Will Gain Momentum
Stating that momentum will be gained in 6G studies in the upcoming period, Karaismailoğlu said, “By increasing our fiber network length to 1 million kilometers, we will enter the top 10 global satellite operators. We will continue to do what is necessary for every required work by considering the interests of the country. We plan the communication infrastructure with state foresight and implement it through public-private sector collaborations. After the 5G tender we will hold in 2023, we will use the upcoming period in the most efficient way for product development. Here, we will have the opportunity to experience important examples of what can be done with 5G. As of 2023 in our country, we will continue our path by making a serious breakthrough in 5G technology to widespread it. We will have the opportunity to experience 5G features provided by GSM operators.”
Deputy Minister Sayan: 5G Is the Beginning of a New Era
Transport and Infrastructure Deputy Minister Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan emphasized that 5G is practically the beginning of a new era. Sayan, who said, “5G will provide infrastructure to all industries and play a groundbreaking role in the mobile ecosystem,” stated that 5G, as a new dimension in communication beyond human-to-human communication, will provide the infrastructure for our longstanding principle that Turkey's data stays in Turkey with machine-to-machine communication. “For us, the indispensable is to have 5G with the highest possible localization rate. Before 4.5G, the localization rate, which was 1% under my Minister, increased by 3200% to 33% with the authorizations we made,” he said.
Listing the work they have done regarding 5G, Sayan said, “With 5G TR Forum, we brought together research centers, entrepreneurial technology companies, our operators, and universities, and this forum is one of the most competent forums not only in our country but in the world. Together with 5G TR, we prepared the 5G White Paper, which is our roadmap for 5G and beyond. In our 5G valley, all features of 5G are being tested. Our Communication Technology Cluster is working with us for end-to-end localization and nationalization on the 5G path. ULAK continues to bear fruit. With Esim technology and ULAK, we showed everyone what we achieved in localization. What is important for us is not only to use technology but to participate in its production with domestic and national means.”
Sharing the information that they have created an environment where operators can also test the 5G network commercially and showcase it to the whole world, Sayan concluded his speech by saying, “When the data in the reports we received from operators regarding these trial studies are examined, we will see that subscribers' average data download speeds have reached values of 1 Gbit/s and above, and upload speeds have reached 90 Mbit/s levels, enabling quite successful subscriber data experiences. We will witness exciting moments for all of us.”