27.10.2015
BTK President Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan, speaking at the 45th Authorization Ceremony, said, “With the transition to 4.5G technology, the internet will speed up 10 times.”
The IMT-Advanced Authorization Ceremony, known to the public as 4.5G, was held at the Rixos Hotel with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Speaking at the ceremony, BTK President Ömer Fatih Sayan stated that record figures were reached in the 4.5G tender.
“The IMT Advanced tender conducted by the Information Technologies and Communication Authority on August 26, known to the public as 4.5G, has been organized for our operators who have obtained the right to provide 4.5G services to make their payments and present their Authorization Documents. I would like to express my gratitude for your gracious presence and welcome you.
The electronic communications sector is going through a very rapid development and change process, and this process is deeply affecting all other sectors. Today, it has become almost impossible to talk about a sector that does not use electronic communications services and infrastructure. The effective and efficient use of electronic communications technologies in education, health, agriculture, industry, tourism, and all other sectors that come to mind has become the key to productivity in these sectors. Therefore, if we think about the electronic communications sector in a broader sense, we need to see information technologies as the key to the development and change of other sectors.
In our country, I would like to thank our President, who is the pioneer of this development and change, for his leadership in issues such as contributing domestic products to our sector in line with the 2023 vision, encouraging R&D, supporting SMEs, and innovative technologies like 5G.
For us, this process is not just a tender; it is an important step to bring our citizens together with the latest communication technology.
The total amount transferred to the Treasury accounts will be 2 Billion 40 Million Euros as of today. The remaining approximately 2 billion Euros payment will be made in 3 equal installments over 18 months.
As a result of this tender, for example, the mobile communications infrastructure, which was like a single-lane road in one direction, has now become a 6-lane highway. For the provision of mobile services, more than twice the frequency has been added to the previously allocated 183.8 MHz frequencies, and the sale of 365.4 MHz frequency has been realized; the total allocated frequency has reached 549 MHz.
During the 3-month postponement of the tender, changes were made in the specification to pave the way for transition to 5G and more advanced technologies. Additionally, an important step has been taken towards Turkey becoming a producer rather than a consumer of technology.
The obligation to employ qualified personnel in R&D centers has been increased by 50% for 4.5G, raising it to 750 people.
For the first time with the 4.5G authorization, operators are obliged to meet 45% of their qualified investments in their networks gradually with products that have domestic goods certificates. With this obligation, the sector is intended to be much more encouraged in domestic product development and the domestic product ecosystem to be developed. In this way, both the outflow of our national resources abroad will be prevented, and steps will be taken to become an important player in the producer position in the world in the field of electronic communications.
The consumer will benefit in terms of obtaining higher quality service at more affordable prices.
As of April 1, 2016, our citizens will get acquainted with 4.5G internet service, which is at least 10 times faster.
With the coverage obligation, population-based coverage will be provided, and roads, highways, conventional train lines, high-speed train lines, and tunnels will be covered.
Another important point is that, to prevent duplicate investments and resource waste, active network sharing is mandated in designated areas, enabling three operators to serve their subscribers simultaneously from a single base station.
Finally, I would like to mention BTK's vision for the upcoming period on this occasion.
As a regulatory authority, increasing consumer welfare is at the top of the issues we value most. Our consumers should receive adequate quality service in return for the fees they pay and should not pay more than necessary for the service they receive.
Studies show that every 1 unit of investment in the ICT sector provides 1.8 units of growth in the total economy, and every 10% increase in broadband access provides 1-1.5% growth in Gross National Product.
International studies show that the greatest economic growth potential for 2025 projections is in mobile internet.
It is projected that the global mobile internet market alone will reach a size of 3.7 trillion dollars to 10.8 trillion dollars by 2025. As a G20 member, we are working to achieve a better position in terms of our market share in mobile internet.
In international studies, we see areas closely related to the internet, such as “automation of knowledge-based processes” and “Internet of Things,” among the technologies with the greatest economic potential. We attach importance to fiber infrastructure, which is of critical importance for our country's economic breakthrough and will play a fueling role like rocket fuel in terms of growth.