Türkiye's 5G spectrum tender attracted a total of $2.95 billion (TL 123.45 billion) in winning bids on Thursday, with the country's three operators Turkcell, Vodafone and Türk Telekom securing key blocks across the 700 MHz and 3.5 GHz frequency ranges.
Turkcell placed the highest bid of $429 million for the A1 package in the 700 MHz band and won four blocks in the 3.5 GHz range. Its winning bids totaled $1.22 billion.
Türk Telekom secured the A3 package for $425 million and three other packages. Its winning bids amounted to $1.1 billion.
Vodafone won the A2 package for $426 million and won a single 3.5 GHz block. Its winning bids totaled $627 million.
The rollout of 5G services is expected to start in April next year, primarily in major cities.
The tender distributed not only 5G frequencies but also extended the usage rights of previous-generation network frequencies until the end of 2042.
Türk Telekom, Turkcell and Vodafone were participating in the tender for 5G frequencies with the minimum fee for all packages set at $2.13 billion, excluding VAT.
The tender offered a total of 11 frequencies up for grabs. The tender was selling frequencies in the 700 MHz band in three blocks and in the 3.5 GHz band in eight blocks.
The operators did not release estimates on network investment ahead of the tender, but analysts expect them to embark on a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar process to upgrade their networks to 5G.
The previous mobile frequency auction before 5G was held in 2015. Three operators paid 4 billion euros ($4.66 billion), including VAT, for the 4.5G for approximately 15 years.
Thursday’s tender also extended the authorization period for 2G and 3G services, which were to expire in 2029, until the end of 2042. Companies will pay 5% of their annual sales from these services to the Treasury.
Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said on Wednesday that the first 5G signal will be launched on April 1 and that it will gradually expand nationwide, starting with densely populated cities. He said it could take a little over a year for coverage to expand nationwide.
On Thursday, in a social media post, he said that their minimum value target of $2.125 billion has reached $3.534 billion, including VAT.
"I would like to express my gratitude to Turkcell, Türk Telekom and Vodafone for participating in our 5G tender, which will make a significant contribution to our economy," he said.
Ömer Abdullah Karagözoğlu, the chairperson of the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) and the Tender Commission, said in his opening remarks that a historic moment had been witnessed.
He suggested that Türkiye had stepped into the 5G era with this tender, noting that this was not just a technological transition but a strategic turning point for the country.
