CANKIRI, Turkey--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Setting an example of an efficient public-private partnership in the field of mobile connectivity, Turkcell (NYSE:TKC) (BIST:TCELL) took 4.5G to rural areas in Anatolia as a part of Turkey’s “Universal Connectivity” project. 9 villages in the town of Cankiri, which were previously served only with 2G will now benefit from 4.5G services.

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Turkcell launches 4.5G in rural Anatolia deploying the nationally-produced base station ULAK (Photo: Business Wire)

Turkcell deployed Turkey’s nationally-produced base station ULAK to bring 4.5G to these villages.

4.5G deployment in Cankiri comes as a part of the “Universal Connectivity” agreement signed between Turkey’s Ministry of Transportation, Communication and Maritime Affairs and Turkcell. Under the agreement, Turkcell is deploying 4.5G to cover 1799 rural settlements. The agreement also requires 10% use of locally produced base stations.

Honoring not just the letter but the spirit of the agreement, Turkcell plans to deploy Turkey’s nationally-produced base station ULAK for nearly 50% of the “Universal 4.5G Connectivity” project - with Cankiri being one of the first areas to be connected with the national base stations.

Turkcell is the first operator to deploy the Turkish national base station on live network.

“If we want Industry 4.0 to transform the societies, we cannot leave anyone behind, no matter what today’s economic feasibilities suggest. As the digital operator, we are honored to support the Turkish Government in taking 4.5G to rural parts of Turkey,” said Gediz Sezgin, Chief Technology Officer of Turkcell. “We are also proud to see that Turkey today has the capability to support this effort with locally produced technology. We are happy to help foster the growth of Turkey’s local technological capabilities and ecosystem through our deployment of the national base station. Both dimensions of our recent deployment in Cankiri exemplify a public-private partnership done right.”

With ULAK, Turkey becomes one of the first 5 countries to develop its own base station

Turkey’s national base station is developed by Aselsan with the contribution of Netas and Argela, under the coordination of the Undersecretariat of Defence Industries and with the support of Ministry of Transport, Communication and Maritime Affairs, and Information and Communication Technology Agency.

Turkcell has cooperated closely with the national base station project team, communicating industry requirements and helping the production of a competitive product. It plans to deploy the national base station in 700 locations in Turkey as a part of its Universal 4.5G expansion until the end of 2018.

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