Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan attended the TUBITAK 1515 Pioneer R&D Laboratories Support Program hosted by Turkcell. Sayan made important statements about the current state of the communications sector.
Speaking at the opening of the program, which was also attended by important figures from the public and private sectors, Sayan provided significant information about Turkey's achievements in the telecommunications sector and future targets.
Stating that Turkey has made a generational leap in the communications field thanks to its strong investments in digitalization, Deputy Minister Sayan said, "The number of mobile subscribers in Turkey has reached 88.5 million. 82.4 million of mobile subscribers are using 4.5G services. We see that mobile penetration has exceeded 104.6%." Particularly noting that the pandemic period has led people to shift more of their lives to the virtual world, Sayan expressed the increase in internet subscribers by saying, "As of the first half of 2022, the number of broadband internet subscribers reached 89.5 million, marking a 4.5% increase compared to the same period of the previous year."
Highlighting the importance of 5G technology for achieving the smart connectivity era targeted through digitalization, Sayan stated, "5G has the potential to significantly impact economic and social life with new products and business models. At the same time, studies on the use of 5G in defense and military fields are rapidly continuing."
Emphasizing in his speech that mastery over the technology used in our current era is extremely important for national security and independence, Deputy Minister Sayan said, "With our President's National Technology Move vision, we have outlined our policies and strategies for our sector. We have conducted important studies towards transitioning to 5G with our domestic and national products, and we are greatly pleased that these efforts have turned into concrete products today."
Stating that investments to strengthen domestic and national production are continuing at full speed, Sayan noted, "Through a protocol signed between our Ministry and the Presidency of Defense Industries, the ULAK project, which we launched in 2013 to develop base stations with intellectual and industrial property rights fully belonging to our country, has now reached approximately 1,700 base stations." Explaining that they have also established the Communications Technologies Cluster (HTK) as part of the domestic and national production targets, Sayan said, "Over time, HTK has grown into an organization encompassing more than 160 companies and over 8,000 employees. By 17 companies, including 14 HTK member companies and 3 mobile operators, the 'End-to-End Domestic and National 5G Communications Network Project' was developed to meet hardware and software needs on the path to 5G with domestic and national capabilities."
Touching on the benefits of keeping data produced in Turkey within the country, Deputy Minister Sayan stated that they have transitioned to eSIM technology with the aim of procuring SIM cards used in e-CALL services from mobile operators in Turkey, and that they have developed the eSIM platform entirely with their own resources.
Stating that one of Turkey's most important goals is to become a global center in technology development, Sayan said that R&D studies are very important in this context. Deputy Minister Sayan concluded his speech by saying, "For this reason, we also see the TUBITAK 1515 Pioneer R&D Laboratories Support Program as a major step."