Turkish Government Announces Specifications for 4G Tender: Turkcell Ready to Launch 4G in Turkey

Ilker Kuruoz, Turkcell's Acting CEO, emphasized Turkcell's readiness to launch 4G in Turkey. (Photo: Business Wire)

ISTANBUL--()--Following the announcement of 4G tender specifications by the Turkish Ministry of Transportation, Communication and Maritime Affairs, Turkcell (NYSE:TKC) (BIST:TCELL) announced that it was ready to launch 4G in Turkey at the earliest possible time.

Commenting on the tender process set forth by the Ministry, Turkcell’s Acting CEO Ilker Kuruoz underlined Turkcell’s high level of readiness for introducing 4G.

“At Turkcell, we had started working on future-proof technologies many years ago. We have kept our readiness levels very high for 4G by investing in our network, expanding our fiber backbone and launching our own-branded 4G smartphone, the Turkcell T50. Today’s announcement by the Ministry confirms that we have taken the right steps at the right time.” said Kuruoz, continuing that, ”Had the government held the tender tomorrow, we would have been ready for it”.

The Turkish Ministry of Transportation, Communication and Maritime Affairs is expected to hold the tender by the end of May 2015. 4G services in Turkey are expected to be launched by the end of the year.

“We will take today as a new starting line and speed up our field work to complete our preparations. Turkcell will be the operator that will best meet its customers’ need for high quality, high speed mobile internet access in 4G,” added Kuruoz, “We are ready to bid for the license that gives us the highest capacity, and to be the growth engine for Turkey’s economy in 4G.

Turkcell was the leading operator in launching 3G in Turkey back in 2009, and has maintained its leadership in providing access to mobile data ever since. And since 2008, Turkcell has also been investing in its fiber backbone through its fast-growing, fully-owned subsidiary Turkcell Superonline – Turkey’s market leader in FTTH and the largest alternative fiber provider in Turkey.

ABOUT TURKCELL: Turkcell is the leading communications and technology company in Turkey, with 34.6 million subscribers as of December 31, 2014. Turkcell is a leading regional player with its approximately 71.5 million subscribers in nine countries as of December 31, 2014. It was one of the first among the global operators to have implemented HSPA+. It has announced two new HSPA+ Technologies on its 3G network to meet rising data usage. Having successfully integrated 3C-HSDPA and DC-HSUPA Technologies, it became the first mobile operator in the world to enable peak speed of 63.3 Mbps downlink, while also enabling an 11.5 Mbps uplink on a 3G network. Turkcell Superonline, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Turkcell, is the first telecom operator to offer households in Turkey fiber broadband connection at speeds of up to 1,000 Mbps. As of December 2014, Turkcell’s population coverage was at 99.81% in 2G and 91.21% in 3G. Turkcell reported TRY12.0 billion (US$5.5 billion) revenue with total assets of TRY23.7 billion (US$10.2 billion) as of December 31, 2014. It has been listed on the NYSE and the BIST since July 2000, and is the only NYSE-listed company in Turkey. Read more at www.turkcell.com.tr

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Contacts

Hande Asik, Tel: +90-532-910 6471
International Media Relations
Turkcell Corporate Communications
Email: hande.asik@turkcell.com.tr

Contacts

Hande Asik, Tel: +90-532-910 6471
International Media Relations
Turkcell Corporate Communications
Email: hande.asik@turkcell.com.tr