November 5, 2015
The existing GSM and 3G (IMT200/UMTS) concession agreements of the winning operators of the Authorization Auction for 4.5G IMT Services and Infrastructures, held by the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) on August 26, 2015 and known to the public as 4.5G, were also amended.
Following the payments of the auction fees by the winning operators of the auction held on August 26—Turkcell, Vodafone, and Avea—on October 27, 2015, in Ankara, at the IMT Authorization Ceremony attended by our President H.E. Recep Tayyip ERDOĞAN, our Minister of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communication H.E. Feridun Bilgin, and our BTK President H.E. Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan, the authorization documents were presented to the managers of the winning operators Turkcell, Vodafone, and Avea by our President H.E. Recep Tayyip ERDOĞAN.
Following the presentation of the authorization documents, the draft texts envisaging amendments to the GSM and 3G concession agreements were signed. The signed draft texts regarding the contract amendments foresee the provision of technology-neutral use of the allocated frequencies—one of the most important innovations introduced under the Authorization Auction for IMT Services and Infrastructures—also for the frequencies specified in the winning operators' GSM and IMT-2000/UMTS Concession Agreements. The concession agreement amendments will be signed and enter into force after obtaining the opinion of the Council of State on the draft texts.