The third '6G Workshop' was organized by the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences of Istanbul Medipol University. Speaking at the workshop, Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan emphasized that those superior in the field of communications have held leadership from ancient times to the present day, stating, "We know that in the past, the person who had a messenger and knew the message they carried could change the course of a war. Today, we compare data to oil. This is an area that can change the course of the world. I'm not saying this just because I'm a communications engineer. It is truly a sector that directly and closely impacts all fields. Education, health, agriculture, industry, tourism—whatever comes to mind—the effective and efficient use of the electronic communications sector in all other sectors is the key to productivity in these sectors."
Drawing attention to the increasing need for mobile bandwidth, Sayan stated, "From the perspective of the ICT sectors, there has been significant development in the last decade under the influence of the pandemic as well. However, in 2020—beyond the last ten years—and including 2021, it became evident that there is a need in this area at an even more accelerated pace."
Providing details on localization efforts in the communications field in Turkey, Sayan said, "When we look at the communication rates in Turkey, our localization rate was 1%. Today, it stands at 22%. Are we in a good position? Not yet, but if we achieved the rise from 1% to 22% within three years, we also know how this rate can multiply in the coming period and how we can accomplish it. Our goal is for our citizens to start using 5G in 2023 with the highest localization rate."