In the workshop held at Turkish Telekom Headquarters within the scope of the End-to-End Domestic and National 5G Communication Network Project, topics related to the 5G roadmap were discussed.
Speaking at the opening of the program, Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan, Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, stated that significant work has been carried out in Türkiye regarding 5G in recent periods, saying, "With the End-to-End Domestic and National 5G Communication Network Project, critical network hardware and software specific to 5G technology are being developed."
Expressing that mobile operators make approximately 1.5 billion liras worth of hardware and software investments annually under the 4.5G authorization scope, Sayan said, "When we consider that at least 45% of this must be sourced from domestic products, this share allocated from the pie needs to be well utilized by our domestic producers."
Drawing attention to the fact that the obligations introduced with 4.5G are just the beginning, Sayan stated that the main goal is for Türkiye to be one of the first countries to adopt 5G technology and for a significant portion of 5G network equipment to be produced with domestic resources.
Emphasizing that many services offered to a limited extent over mobile networks can be provided to users faster, higher quality, more widespread, and more innovative with 5G, Sayan said: "In recent periods, important work is being carried out in our country on the path to 5G. With the End-to-End Domestic and National 5G Communication Network Project, which is being conducted by the Communications Technologies Cluster (HTK) and supported by TÜBİTAK, critical network hardware and software specific to 5G technology are being developed."
Deputy Minister Sayan: Radio Link Equipment Design to be Completed in March 2020
Providing information that the design of the radio link equipment developed within the project will be completed and can be tested on live networks in March 2020, and will be ready for use in networks by June of next year, Sayan stated that ULAK AŞ has also joined the 5G project conducted by HTK, and with this synergy and collaboration, the targets will be reached in the shortest time.
Referring to how global giant companies form their ecosystems around a single brand, Sayan said, "It is nearly impossible for us to operate with different brands. Therefore, while continuing all our efforts, branding is very important. Today, there is a technology war worldwide regarding 5G and beyond technologies, led by China and the USA. Being aware of this war, we must take the necessary measures and, as public sector, private sector, our three major operators, HTK, and ULAK, fulfill our duties together."
Explaining that the effort towards 5G technology can only yield results through the use of products developed by companies in commercial networks, Sayan stated that they will closely follow competition in the supply of infrastructure products and the integration of domestic products into existing networks in the coming period.
Deputy Minister Sayan: We Value Shared Infrastructure
Stating that they are working on usage scenarios that will allow citizens to experience 5G technology, Sayan evaluated, "The main goal here is to conduct applications similar to the 5G trials currently being done using products from foreign suppliers, but with domestic and national products, before 5G is commercially offered in our country."
Expressing that one of the first test areas for the establishment of 5G infrastructure will be Istanbul Airport, Sayan announced that other test areas have been designated as 5G valleys in Istanbul and Ankara. Stating that the frequency tender for 5G will be held after clearly demonstrating the usability of domestic and national products in commercial networks and preparing products to world standards, Sayan said, “We value shared infrastructure to prevent duplicate investments. A legal arrangement on this matter will be made next year.”
Chairman Karagözoğlu: 2020 Will Be a Milestone for 5G
Information Technologies and Communication Authority (BTK) Chairman Ömer Abdullah Karagözoğlu also attended the program. Expressing that technologies to be included in the 5G network and ecosystem are becoming increasingly visible worldwide, Karagözoğlu said, “We can say that it is very important for the necessary steps in this regard to be implemented as soon as possible in our country, when we foresee that 2020 will be an important milestone for 5G technologies worldwide, and that the first significant developments in the market in terms of commercialization will emerge.”
Stating that the 5G network infrastructure will serve industrial applications and internet-connected objects extensively, Karagözoğlu said, “Creating and sustaining an ecosystem that includes research, development, and production processes regarding the use of 5G in industry is equally important. In order not to lose our country's domestic market in 5G technologies to foreign companies and imported products; it is necessary to quickly bring into use qualified products that comply with international standards, have technical superiority, and can provide price competition.”
Emphasizing that the Communications Technologies Cluster (HTK) is fulfilling a very important task, Karagözoğlu said, “HTK set out exactly to fulfill this task and has made very important progress in a short time with successful steps. These successful steps create a very important source of confidence for us and encourage future work. Considering the importance of collaboration in our country's electronic communications sector, I want to state that HTK, formed through the cooperation of SMEs, is the sole organization in our sector and has taken on an important mission on behalf of our country.”
Chairman Karagözoğlu: Domestic Product Usage Rate Reaches 15%
“We see the significant contributions of our three operators present here to all the studies conducted, their cooperation with our producers in the research and development phase, their guidance, and their support for the projects being worked on as consultants and experts with their experienced personnel as a very important and valuable gain,” said Karagözoğlu, adding, “In the field studies conducted by our operators within the framework of the trial permits given by our Authority, sharing their experiences with our domestic producers, exchanging knowledge, and using our domestic producers' products for testing and integration in real field environments is quite important in terms of establishing collaboration. Because in the trial permits we have given for 5G technologies, we have always taken into account the joint efforts with our domestic producers such as HTK and ULAK for over a year. In this process, we will request the studies conducted, the experiences gained, and the results from our operators and HTK members in the near future.”
Emphasizing the sensitivity for mobile operators to use at least 45% domestic products, Karagözoğlu said, “We are pleased to see that this rate has risen from 1% to 15% in recent periods. We expect our operators to expand their efforts for domestic products to include more SMEs, and to share their internal resources and capabilities oriented towards production more with SMEs.”