In his written statement, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Adil Karaismailoğlu evaluated the “Turkish Electronic Communications Sector 2020 First Quarterly Market Data Report” prepared by the Information Technologies and Communications Authority (BTK) regarding the electronic communications sector.
Stating that the number of mobile subscribers in Turkey reached 81.8 million, Karaismailoğlu reported that the mobile penetration rate was 98.4 percent.
Minister Karaismailoğlu pointed out that Turkey ranked first among European countries in the first quarter of 2020, as in the previous period, with an average monthly mobile usage time of 488 minutes.
Karaismailoğlu reported that the length of fiber infrastructure developed for the dissemination of high-capacity fixed, mobile and wireless broadband networks and services reached 400 thousand kilometers with an increase of 10.2 percent.
“We will be one of the first countries to switch to 5G”
Pointing out that Turkey will be one of the first countries in the world to switch from 4.5G to 5G, Karaismailoğlu said, “The indispensable part of 5G is fiber infrastructure. For this reason, we continue to cover our country with fiber networks.” he said.
Stating that the number of 4.5G subscribers increased to 75 million 372 thousand, Karaismailoğlu stated that the number of mobile broadband subscribers receiving internet service from mobile computers and mobile phones with 3G and 4.5G services exceeded 62 million 852 thousand.
Karaismailoğlu stated that the number of mobile number ports in the first 3 months of the year increased by 5.6 percent compared to the previous quarter and exceeded 3 million 609 thousand, and the total mobile traffic volume was 67.9 billion minutes in the first quarter.
“Broadband internet usage increased by 28 percent”
Emphasizing that information technologies have become an indispensable part of economic life, Karaismailoğlu noted that the new type of coronavirus (Covid-19) epidemic increased the demand for information technologies.
Reminding that the interest in education and e-commerce sites, especially in the banking and communication sector, increased during the epidemic period, Karaismailoğlu said, “During the epidemic process, while the need for information and communication technologies intensified, countries with inadequate infrastructure encountered great difficulties. At this point, Turkey has successfully tested its infrastructure.” .” made his assessment.
Pointing out that the number of internet subscribers increased by 3.6 percent in the first quarter of the year compared to the same period of the previous year, Karaismailoğlu said:
“The highest increase occurred in the number of ‘Fiber to the Home’ subscribers with a rate of 27.4 percent. This was followed by the number of ‘Cable Internet’ subscribers with an increase of 18.7 percent. The average monthly data usage of fixed broadband subscribers compared to the same period of the previous year “It reached 138.6 gigabytes with an increase of 28 percent. We can see how appropriate the importance we attach to fiber infrastructure is.”
