Turkey seeks more local components for 4.5G tender
Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) Vice-President Ömer Fatih Sayan said the specifications for the 4G tender to be held on Aug. 26 were amended to put the technology, known as 4.5G by the public, into force, paving the way for the transition to 5G through more domestic means.
Speaking to the Anadolu Agency, Sayan said the tender specifications of the International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) authorization tender, known as the 4G auction, were amended to bring forward a vision that aims to carry out domestic Research and Development (R&D) activities and to achieve a communication sector where local content ratio is higher.
We aim to be one of the first countries that switch to 5G, Sayan said, adding that the tender will be about allocating frequency segments. A total of 20 frequency segments will be put up for sale at the 800, 900, 1800, 2100 and 2600 MHz bands to operators that win the tender. Following the tender, new technologies, including 5G, will be offered to consumers with the use of these frequency segments.
Unlike the previous specifications, the tender revision stipulates operators to use minimum "IMT-Advanced" technology in the new telecommunications infrastructures with the aim of enabling people to benefit from the most advanced technology.
The objective is to form 5G patents whose R&D studies are domestically carried out, to affectively participate in standardization studies and to contribute to the formation of a domestic communication ecosystem.
The current frequency assigned to mobile network operators is 183 MHz and will increase to a total of 573 MHz with the new frequency segments that will be dedicated following the tender. The total frequency will increase more than threefold while the frequency that will offer data services on mobile broadbands will increase more than fivefold. The frequency segments that will be allocated after the tender will begin to deliver service with new technology as of April 1, 2016. After operators are authorized to use new frequencies, they will be obliged to extend coverage range to 95 percent of Turkey's population in the next eight years. They will also have to cover 90 percent of the population of all cities and provinces within the same period.
The amendment also requires operators to cover tunnels that are longer than one kilometer and conventional railway routes, in addition to highways and high-speed railway lines, in a certain period of time with the objective of offering mobile broadband service to people while they travel on these routes. Highlighting the importance of R&D, the addendum encourages mobile operators to launch more R&D centers and to increase the number of minimum-qualified R&D staff by 50 percent. With the purpose of encouraging Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) to develop domestic products and to produce through their own means, they are stipulated to use at least 10 percent homegrown products in their investments. The revision also obliges mobile operators to have at least 45 percent domestic product utilization in products such as cell phones and base stations.
Speaking to the Anadolu Agency, Sayan said the tender specifications of the International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) authorization tender, known as the 4G auction, were amended to bring forward a vision that aims to carry out domestic Research and Development (R&D) activities and to achieve a communication sector where local content ratio is higher.
We aim to be one of the first countries that switch to 5G, Sayan said, adding that the tender will be about allocating frequency segments. A total of 20 frequency segments will be put up for sale at the 800, 900, 1800, 2100 and 2600 MHz bands to operators that win the tender. Following the tender, new technologies, including 5G, will be offered to consumers with the use of these frequency segments.
Unlike the previous specifications, the tender revision stipulates operators to use minimum "IMT-Advanced" technology in the new telecommunications infrastructures with the aim of enabling people to benefit from the most advanced technology.
The objective is to form 5G patents whose R&D studies are domestically carried out, to affectively participate in standardization studies and to contribute to the formation of a domestic communication ecosystem.
The current frequency assigned to mobile network operators is 183 MHz and will increase to a total of 573 MHz with the new frequency segments that will be dedicated following the tender. The total frequency will increase more than threefold while the frequency that will offer data services on mobile broadbands will increase more than fivefold. The frequency segments that will be allocated after the tender will begin to deliver service with new technology as of April 1, 2016. After operators are authorized to use new frequencies, they will be obliged to extend coverage range to 95 percent of Turkey's population in the next eight years. They will also have to cover 90 percent of the population of all cities and provinces within the same period.
The amendment also requires operators to cover tunnels that are longer than one kilometer and conventional railway routes, in addition to highways and high-speed railway lines, in a certain period of time with the objective of offering mobile broadband service to people while they travel on these routes. Highlighting the importance of R&D, the addendum encourages mobile operators to launch more R&D centers and to increase the number of minimum-qualified R&D staff by 50 percent. With the purpose of encouraging Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) to develop domestic products and to produce through their own means, they are stipulated to use at least 10 percent homegrown products in their investments. The revision also obliges mobile operators to have at least 45 percent domestic product utilization in products such as cell phones and base stations.
Last Update: July 30, 2015 23:30