BTK President Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan attended the First International Electronic Communications Regulation Conference hosted by the Tunis National Telecommunications Authority.
The conference, held for the first time on March 13-14, 2018, and providing an opportunity for sharing knowledge and experience in the field of communications technologies, was conducted in five separate sessions, with Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan chairing the first session.
NEW GENERATION TECHNOLOGIES WILL TRANSFORM THE COMMUNICATIONS SECTOR
In his address to the participants at the opening of the session he chaired, titled “Effective Regulation of Future Network Technologies: Prerequisites and Principles,” Sayan emphasized that we are on the verge of a significant departure from traditional mobile communications. He noted that new-generation mobile communication technologies, particularly 5G and beyond, will first transform the communications sector and then shape all vertical sectors such as energy, manufacturing, healthcare, and automotive. BTK President stated that 2G technologies increased mobile phones and mobile penetration rates, 3G brought high data usage, one-third of the world's 7.2 billion people have access to 4G technologies, and 5G possesses features that will change the paradigms of both communications and other sectors. With 5G, not only people but also objects—from the largest to the smallest—will communicate with each other. It is estimated that only 10% of the hundreds of billions of different communications expected by 2025 will be between people, and he underlined that public institutions, the private sector, and academic institutions have different and complementary roles in preparing for this period.
WE AIMED TO BE AMONG THE FIRST COUNTRIES TO ADOPT 5G
“We have set a vision for Turkey to be among the first countries to implement 5G and beyond technologies. We aim to create Turkey's 5G and beyond technologies with domestic and national designs and products to the widest extent possible,” said Sayan, adding that Turkey's legal and regulatory framework is in a good position to evolve with 5G. He noted that approximately two years ago, Turkish mobile operators began offering IMT-Advanced services known publicly as 4.5G, and with the 4.5G authorization, operators were obligated to increase domestic content in network investments. Sayan emphasized that the use of domestic products in IT services is a vital issue for all public authorities and that, as a regulatory body, they consider this in every regulatory decision.
WE ESTABLISHED THE 5G VALLEY OPEN TEST FIELD
Sayan stated that to accelerate 5G and beyond studies, they established the 5GTR Forum, bringing together Turkey's leading operators, academics, R&D institutions, and manufacturers, and the 5G Valley Open Test Field in collaboration with three universities and three operators. With the 5GTR Forum and 5G Valley, they aim to create an effective ecosystem not only for the ICT sector but also for vertical sectors.
Following Sayan’s address to the participants, speakers at the session included Angelo Marcello Cardani, President of the Italian Regulatory Authority-AGCOM; Jaebum Lee, Program Coordinator of the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Bureau; Karim Ben Kahla, Board Member of the Tunis National Telecommunications Authority; and Eric Delannoy, Economic Advisor at Deloitte, each delivering a speech. The session primarily focused on the principles and foundations of new regulatory models and addressed new regulatory trends related to 5G.
The conference, held in five sessions, covered the following topics:
During the conference, BTK President Sayan held bilateral meetings with Hichem Besbes, President of the Tunis National Telecommunications Authority, and Angelo Marcello Cardani, President of the Italian Regulatory Authority. In the meetings, current developments in the communications field were evaluated, and information and views were exchanged on various topics.
During his visit to Tunisia, Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan also visited the Turkish Embassy in Tunisia and met with Ambassador Ömer Faruk Doğan.