16.5.2017
Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan, President of the Information Technologies and Communication Authority (BTK), speaking at the "High Maturity in Software" event organized by TÜBİTAK BİLGEM YTE, said: “We must all together form cooperation and unity of strength to build an economy based on technology production. Only in this way will it be possible for us to achieve the goal of entering the world's top 10 economies by 2023.”
BTK President Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan attended the "High Maturity in Software" event organized by TÜBİTAK BİLGEM YTE, hosted by BTK. TÜBİTAK President Prof. Dr. A. Arif ERGİN, public informatics managers, experts, and sector representatives attended the event.
IN THE INFORMATION SECTOR, PRODUCERS RATHER THAN CONSUMERS WILL BE ONE STEP AHEAD
Stating that the capability to design, develop, and produce in the high-technology field of the communications sector is of great importance in the economic development of countries, Sayan said: “With the influence of technological developments, the importance of the information sector will be felt even more in the coming years, and in the information sector, individuals, organizations, companies, and even states that produce rather than consume will be one step ahead of others. Communication technologies will both increase our country's competitiveness in vertical sectors such as transportation, health, and industry, and take those sectors out of conventional molds. Therefore, we should not think of communication technologies in the classical sense.”
WE MUST BUILD AN ECONOMY BASED ON TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTION
Emphasizing that one cannot have a say in the world in the long term by using products produced by others, Sayan said: “A few months ago, our Institution published its fourth quarter report for 2016. According to this report, we see that the total investment made by our private sector in the electronic communications sector in 2016 was 7.4 billion TL. Currently, a large part of this investment volume goes abroad as the counterpart of the imports we make. If we want to achieve our goals, we must definitely put a stop to this situation. We must all together form cooperation and unity of strength to build an economy based on technology production. Only in this way will it be possible for us to achieve the goal of entering the world's top 10 economies by 2023. To achieve this goal, we need to reach a position of exporting high value-added products by producing technology.”
BTK IS WORKING WITH A VISION OF LOCALIZATION AND NATIONALIZATION
Recalling the vision drawn by His Excellency the President regarding the future of the electronic communications sector during the preparation process of the 4.5G tender conducted by BTK in 2015, Sayan said: “Within the framework of this vision targeting a communications sector that conducts its own R&D and has a higher localization rate, with the 4.5G authorization tender held in 2015, for the first time, mobile operators were obliged to meet at least 10% of their network and communications services investments from products produced by our SMEs in Turkey, and at least 45% from products with Domestic Goods Certificates. With these new obligations introduced by our Institution, the aim is both to prevent the outflow of our country's national resources abroad and to become a significant actor in the world in a producer position with our own resources.”
I EXPECT POSITIVE DISCRIMINATION TOWARDS OUR SECTOR FROM TÜBİTAK
Noting that in this period we are in, the state has almost launched a mobilization in terms of localization and nationalization in critical sectors such as defense and communications, Sayan said: “At this point, important duties fall to everyone. The State supports our producer companies' R&D and innovation projects, as well as their various needs for production, certification, promotion, and marketing through many different channels to achieve the relevant goal. TÜBİTAK is at the forefront of the public institutions providing support. With its vision and R&D culture, TÜBİTAK plays very important roles in creating an innovative and sustainable industry in the field of science and technology in our country. If I am not mistaken, 12 programs opened under TÜBİTAK-TEYDEB provide support to entrepreneurs, SMEs, and large industrial organizations in various fields.
If we talk specifically about the electronic communications sector under our Institution, TÜBİTAK had previously issued research calls for 4.5G and 5G mobile communication technologies. As I mentioned before, considering the importance of the communications sector and its interaction with vertical industries, it is very clear what localization and nationalization efforts in this sector mean. In this context, I think positive discrimination should be applied to project applications from our sector in TÜBİTAK supports.”
Sayan concluded his speech by thanking everyone who contributed to the "High Maturity in Software" event organized by TÜBİTAK BİLGEM YTE.