Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Adil Karaismailoğlu announced that operator revenues in the electronic communications sector increased by 20 percent compared to the previous year to reach 92.4 billion liras in 2021, while this revenue was realized at the level of 25.4 billion liras in the last quarter.
In his written statement, Minister Karaismailoğlu commented on the "Turkey Electronic Communications Sector 3-Monthly Market Data Report" prepared by the Information Technologies and Communication Authority (BTK).
Stating that growth and development in the sector continued in almost all indicators last year, Karaismailoğlu expressed that 442 companies authorized by BTK last year provided communication services with their 792 authorization documents.
Karaismailoğlu announced that operator revenues in the electronic communications sector increased by 20 percent compared to the previous year to reach 92.4 billion liras in 2021.
Providing the information that this figure was realized at the level of 25.4 billion liras in the last quarter of last year, Karaismailoğlu emphasized that these data show the sector's continued growth and offer hope for the future.
Minister Karaismailoğlu: More Than 10.3 Million Mobile Numbers Ported in 2021
Drawing attention to the fact that investments by all operators in the sector approached 22 billion liras with an approximately 31 percent increase compared to the previous year, Karaismailoğlu stated: "As of the end of 2021, the number of mobile subscribers reached 86.3 million, and mobile penetration approached 102 percent. Of the mobile subscribers, 80.2 million preferred 4.5G subscription, which started service in 2016. 4.5G service accounted for 93 percent of total subscribers. These subscribers signal a great potential in our country for 5G and beyond technologies. The number of machine-to-machine (M2M) subscribers, expected to increase much more with the widespread adoption of the Internet of Things technology, reached 7.4 million and showed 17 percent annual growth. The number of subscribers changing operators continues to increase with the number portability application, which started in our country in 2008 and is one of the best practice examples worldwide. As of the end of 2021, the total number of ported mobile numbers reached 157.7 million. The number of ported numbers in 2021 exceeded 10.3 million."
Minister Karaismailoğlu: Internet Subscriber Number Exceeds 88 Million
Pointing out that the stable growth in internet in Turkey continues, Minister Karaismailoğlu drew attention to the fact that the total broadband internet subscriber number rose to 88.2 million, 70 million of which are mobile. Karaismailoğlu announced that the subscriber number increased by more than 5.8 million, growing by 7 percent compared to the end of 2020, and there was a 29.4 percent annual increase in the "Fiber to the Home" service subscriber number.
Stating that while the broadband internet subscriber number increased, subscribers' usages also showed a significant increase, Karaismailoğlu evaluated: "In 2021, the average monthly data usage of fixed broadband subscribers increased by 27.5 percent to 204.5 gigabytes. While the average monthly data usage of fixed broadband subscribers was 177.6 gigabytes in the last quarter of 2020, this figure rose to 204 gigabytes with an increase of more than 15 percent in the last quarter of 2021. For mobile subscribers, data usage, which was 9.9 gigabytes in the fourth quarter of 2020, increased by 10.3 percent to 11 gigabytes."
Also providing information on voice traffic in mobile and fixed networks, Karaismailoğlu used the following expressions: "The situation where a significant portion of telephone traffic in our country originates from mobile networks continued in 2021 as well. In 2021, the total traffic in our country was determined to be 318 billion minutes with a 5 percent increase compared to the previous year. Approximately 98 percent of this traffic was initiated from mobile networks, and the traffic initiated from fixed networks was recorded as 5.2 billion minutes. As of the last quarter of the year, the average monthly usage duration in mobile networks was 565 minutes, and 92 minutes in fixed networks."
Stating that fiber infrastructure is of critical importance for the development of both broadband internet and current 4.5G, as well as 5G and beyond mobile technologies, Karaismailoğlu noted that the gratifying increase seen in operators' investments in 2021 was also reflected in fiber investments. Emphasizing that fiber infrastructure increased by around 11 percent in one year to reach 471 thousand kilometers, Karaismailoğlu conveyed that the fiber internet subscriber number also exceeded 4.8 million with an approximately 21 percent increase.
Expressing that one of the services that make life easier is electronic signature, Minister Karaismailoğlu evaluated: "Currently, there are a total of 6 authorized electronic certificate service providers in our country. As of the end of 2021, the number of certificates issued by these electronic certificate service providers reached a total of 6.2 million, approximately 5.5 million of which are electronic signatures and 767 thousand are mobile signatures."