With new communication satellites, Türksat 5A, 5B and 6A, Turkey will be more powerful in space, the Turkish transport and infrastructure minister said Thursday.
Türksat 5A will be launched this month and 5B in the second quarter of 2021, Adil Karaismailoğlu announced during the 13th International Conference on Information Security and Cryptology, organized virtually.
The minister said Turkey aims to become a logistical superpower in the region, to create a sustainable data network and to provide digitalization in all fields.
The ministry's goals for the 2020-2023 period are developing the country's economy, protecting social life, providing national security and becoming an international brand in the cybersecurity field, he stressed.
The minister said Turkey will strengthen critical infrastructure systems, develop national capability, create a cybersecurity network, provide new technologies, fight against cybercrimes, develop indigenous technologies and improve international cooperation in the same period.
As a rapidly advancing country, Turkey is ready to catch up with the world's digital transformation speed. Healthy and secure data transfer is the foundation of a strong economy, he added.
Ali Taha Koç, head of Turkey's Digital Transformation Office, stressed information has been an element of power and domination since the beginning of life.
"With the rapid development in the internet and mobile devices, data production has increased even more," he noted, underlining that the data amount, generated in the last two years, was more than the total data generated since the beginning of life.
He highlighted that technology has changed every field of life, including business models, shopping habits and education.
"In the near future, between 2021 and 2025, standard smartphones will be able to communicate without the need for additional equipment by connecting to low-orbit communication satellites via 5G base stations," he said.
Ömer Abdullah Karagözoğlu, the chairman of Turkey's Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK), said the pandemic showed the importance of information and communication technologies.
"As physical distances increased, we connected with each other via technology," he said and added that people were able to continue their education, meetings and social relations remotely during the pandemic period.
