March 30, 2016
There is very little time left until the transition to 4.5G technology, which brings high-speed mobile internet into our lives. As the days to April 1, 2016, are counting down, details about 4.5G have also become a topic of curiosity in the public. The Information Technologies and Communication Authority has prepared a study titled “4.5G Technology, Benefits It Will Provide to Our Country, Innovations It Will Bring, and Frequently Asked Questions” to dispel doubts on the subject, explain the unknowns, and correctly inform the public.
This study includes matters aimed at informing consumers about the 4.5G technology that will enter into service as of April 1, 2016, and answering questions that consumers might ask. Without delving too much into technical details in terms of writing, a language understandable by consumers was adopted, and all details regarding 4.5G were clearly explained. In this study we present to the public, there will be headings such as: “What is 4.5G?, What are the differences between 3G and 4.5G technologies?, What has been provided with 4.5G authorization?, When will 4.5G service start?, How can I benefit from 4.5G? and Benefits and Innovations That 4.5G Technology Will Provide to Our Country.”
Fourth Generation (4G) is the general term given to mobile communication systems developed to provide high-speed broadband services over mobile phones and having a fully IP-based network structure. This system, standardized by ITU under its name to meet the excessively increasing mobile broadband requirements by exceeding the high speed limits partially reached with 3G in mobile communication networks, includes LTE/LTE-A technology developed by 3GPP and mobile WiMAX 2.0 (802.16m) technology developed by IEEE among 4G technologies.
IMT-Advanced, known in the public as 4.5G, is the general name of the latest mobile communication technology used in the world. This technology is a mobile communication technology that provides mobile internet at higher speeds, lower latency, and high capacity.
Much faster data and internet connection, uninterrupted communication with low latency, high image quality, better coverage area, use of cloud computing technology, real-time data sharing, fast and quality communication in video conferencing and teleconferencing, advanced multimedia integration, remote access to data, cost reduction, efficient use of resources, and time savings can be listed.
With the 4.5G authorization, flexibility was provided to operators in technology use. With this authorization, operators have the opportunity to offer new technologies, including 5G, to our citizens' service simultaneously with the world. The amendments made aim to enable operators to use developing technologies and especially next-generation new technologies like 5G without the need for any permission and to plan their networks more flexibly.
For the first time with the 4.5G authorization, it was made possible to consider the areas covered by 4.5G as covered for determining 3G coverage obligations. Thus, both duplicate investments by operators under 3G were prevented, and the widespread use and adoption of newer technologies were encouraged. Accordingly, necessary changes were made in the relevant network operators' 3G concession agreements to ensure the use of this opportunity brought by the 4.5G authorization by the operators.
In addition, obligations were introduced for coverage of divided highways, motorways, tunnels, conventional railway lines, high-speed and very high-speed railway lines, and active radio access network sharing in settlements with a population of less than 10,000. In other words, in these areas, three operators will be able to serve their subscribers simultaneously through a single base station. It is thought that significant resource savings will be achieved this way. Antenna facilities newly established under 3G concession agreements following the 4.5G authorization were also included in the scope of these obligations. In this context, necessary changes were made in the 3G concession agreements to ensure that network operators fulfill this obligation brought by the 4.5G authorization.
Another important point is that, as an indicator of the importance given to domestic products and production with the 4.5G authorization, for the first time, some obligations were introduced to encourage companies producing domestically much more in developing domestic products related to the electronic communications sector and to develop the domestic product ecosystem.
4.5G service will start to be offered to subscribers by the authorized operators (Avea, Turkcell, and Vodafone) as of April 1, 2016.
You can check your device's user manual to determine whether your device supports 4.5G. Additionally, you can obtain information on the subject from your network operator from whom you receive or plan to receive 4.5G service.
The difficulty in meeting user demands with 3G (English: 3rd Generation) systems, which are heavily used today, and the start of use of “Advanced International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT-Advanced)” systems, also called 4.5G, is not the last of the developments in access technologies, and 5G technologies have begun to be discussed today.
Similar to how GPRS/EDGE technologies, advanced versions of 2G technologies like GSM, are called 2.5G, and technologies like HSPA and HSPA+ following 3G are called 3.5G, the mobile communication technologies put into service in our country on April 1, 2016, are named 4.5G because an advanced version of 4G, which is in the preparation phase for 5G, will be used. The “Authorization Tender for IMT Services and Infrastructures” for the establishment and operation of 4.5G and subsequent next-generation mobile communication networks was held on August 26, 2015, at the Information Technologies and Communication Authority's main building. Following the fulfillment of the obligations specified in the Specification by the winning operators, the relevant operators (Avea, Turkcell, and Vodafone) were authorized to provide IMT services as of October 27, 2015, until April 30, 2029.
This technology, which is a continuation of 2G and 3G technologies, uses a cellular network system like other GSM standards. Problems such as coverage issues that emerged with 3G will be resolved with 4.5G technology.
4.5G technology provides communication based on IP and implements this service within the framework of IPv6 standards. Thus, a large number of wireless devices can be connected to each other using a single protocol. IPv6 supports more robust, more secure, and higher transmission capability applications. 4.5G, which offers a much more advanced experience than 3G with high transmission speeds, can be said to be a technology focused more on video and image transmission. Because 4.5G enables much faster data communication on wider bands with a different access technology (OFDMA).