In the village of Akçalı in the southeastern province of Hakkari, an entrepreneur has come up with a way to connect to GSM operators that are usually out of reach due to the remoteness of the area.
Ali Yücel Kaya uses his drone to lift his cellphone to a higher altitude to connect to the operator. Then, Bluetooth on another phone is used to reach Kaya's phone from down on the ground. Kaya charges TL 1 ($0.27) for 10 minutes. He said the drone has to go up as much as 10 meters before a phone could connect to a GSM operator.
"Our village is 5 kilometers away from the nearest town but still, there is no reception. My mother is sick, and my brother is in jail. She wanted to talk to my brother but couldn't. That's why I bought the drone. Once every day, I go to the village square and use my drone to help others." He said from time to time, the drone breaks down.
"Then we collect money and get it fixed. At other times, for instance when there is a medical emergency, I am asked to call an ambulance. We can't go up the hills that surround the village because of wolves."
