Turkcell, operating in Ukraine under the brand name "Life :)," became the first operator to put 3G service into practice across the country. Ukraine, where nearly 45 million people live, can now experience 3G services that provides broadband mobile infrastructure. Winning the tender held in February with a $118.4 million offer, Turkcell put 3G into service within three and a half months. Having nearly 14 million subscribers, Life :) offers a triple carrier, which increases the speed up to 63.3 Mbps with the most advanced technology. The company is in the position of market leader with 36 percent smartphone use. Top officials in the Ukraine government attended the ceremony held in the capital city of Kiev and speakers extended their gratitude to Turkcell and Life :) for providing the first 3G service in the country.

Chairman of Turkcell Ahmet Akça said that Turkcell took one of the most important economic ties between the two countries to a higher level with its 3G investment in Ukraine. "We are experiencing the pride of introducing 3G to Ukraine. Today we are not only changing the life of people in Ukraine but we are also shortening the distance between the two countries. By making closer business worlds of the two countries, we are happy to contribute to the target of $10 billion in trade volume, which has been set as a goal to be reached by 2017 by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko," said Akça.

Kaan Terzioğlu, the general manager of Turkcell, emphasized that they believed in the potential of Ukraine and said that they would continue to provide value and benefits for the people and institutions of the country with the company's experience, knowledge and technology. Terzioğlu further underlined that "Ukraine will be a success story in the international operations of Turkcell and a pilot country as we carry our experiences to the region. Thanks to our technology, we want to change lives, teach and entertain people living in this region and help them make their businesses more fruitful, just as we do in Turkey. We observed and experienced repercussions and contributions of this in Turkey. Now it is time for Ukraine."

Leonid Kadeniuk, the first Ukrainian cosmonaut attending an international space mission on Shuttle Columbia in 1997, said that he was happy to witness the historic moment of Ukraine having 3G technology. Giving a speech at the ceremony, Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine Aivaras Abromavicius said that Life :) is the second largest investment by Turkcell after Turkey. Underlining the importance of the 3G tender, Abromavicius said that "We hope this investment by Turkcell will become a model for other investments and other investors."