The 7th Executive Board and First Phase Closing Meeting of the End-to-End Domestic and National 5G Project, where domestic 5G products were introduced, was held under the auspices of the Information and Communication Technologies Authority.
Speaking at the program where the first voice call was made over the 5G infrastructure, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Adil Karaismailoğlu stated that Turkey has made significant strides in the last 19 years on the path to national economic independence.
Drawing attention to the important projects they have implemented to raise citizens' standard of living, Karaismailoğlu said, "Among these projects, 5G stands out due to the tremendous speed it will bring to our lives."
Pointing out that there are more than 7 billion mobile phone subscriptions worldwide as of the end of 2020, and that mobile internet subscriptions exceed 75% of the world's population, Karaismailoğlu stated that they foresee 20% of global connections will be made up of 5G technologies by 2025.
Noting that mobile network operators worldwide are expected to invest more than $1.1 trillion in their networks over the next five years, with approximately 80% of this investment going to 5G technology, Karaismailoğlu said, "It is estimated that by 2025, there will be 100 billion different connections worldwide, with only 10% of them being humans. In the near future, it is projected that the amount of data circulating per square kilometer will increase 16-fold approximately every 4 years. To meet this demand, we will need 25 times more frequency and 2000 times more base stations compared to the previous generation."
Emphasizing that as Turkey develops in every field, citizens are now benefiting more from technological opportunities, Karaismailoğlu stated, "Whether you go to Edirne or Kars today, you will see everyone from 7 to 77 using 4.5G technology. As of the end of 2020, our total internet subscriptions reached 82.4 million, with approximately 66 million being mobile internet. The number of machines connected via mobile networks in our country, i.e., machine-to-machine communication subscribers, exceeds 6.5 million. Infrastructure investment reached 16.7 billion lira in 2020, marking an increase of approximately 30% compared to the previous year."
Minister Karaismailoğlu: 5G Will Increase Internet Speed Up to 100 Times
Minister Karaismailoğlu pointed out that the pandemic process has positively affected the need for information and communication and the speed of development in the sector accordingly, emphasizing that they recorded 15.6% growth in the ICT sector in 2020.
Stating that countries wanting to have a say in the world today attach special importance to 5G technology, Karaismailoğlu said, "Unlike previous generations, 5G will increase internet speed up to 100 times. The electronic communications sector will leap to a new dimension in voice, data, and video transmission. 5G technology will greatly accelerate developments and innovations in areas such as the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, machine-to-machine communication (M2M), and machine learning that are being worked on today. With 5G, which has a more effective and robust cybersecurity system, data analytics will gain even more importance, and coding and design will become more critical. With nearly instantaneous communication capability, entirely new business opportunities such as autonomous vehicles and remote surgeries will emerge."
Underlining that 5G and beyond technologies, which were not closely converged with communication technologies before, will reshape industries called "vertical sectors," Karaismailoğlu said that 5G networks will be particularly effective in industry, healthcare services, remote real-time interventions, and the virtualization of media and social activities.
Explaining that technologies expressed as virtual reality will fundamentally change life, Karaismailoğlu said, "New technologies such as autonomous systems, artificial intelligence, and blockchain will find increasing areas of use in our lives with 5G."
Minister Karaismailoğlu: Despite the Pandemic, We Worked Day and Night on the Path to 5G
Touching upon the fact that these developments show that information and communication technologies will become the center of life in the coming years, Karaismailoğlu said, "To reach our 2023, 2053, 2071 targets, we must produce high-tech, high value-added products. With our companies coming together, we have showcased a beautiful example of public-private sector collaboration. Despite all the adverse conditions of the pandemic, we worked day and night on the path to 5G for our country's goals, and we continue to do so. As public administrators, we consider it very important to consult with the private sector and civil society organizations when making decisions, for the development of correct public policies and strategies. We see the ongoing End-to-End Domestic and National 5G Project as an important example of this unity. I believe that we will continue to work with the same understanding and sensitivity in the upcoming processes with this joint achievement. Our support for companies acting with this awareness will always continue."
Stating that the commercialization of the products to be launched in the domestic and national 5G project will contribute to the formation of an important ecosystem for Turkey, Karaismailoğlu emphasized that it will also provide significant contributions to the economy through import substitution effects and export revenues.
Noting that a large part of cyberattacks or espionage activities are carried out through vulnerabilities in software or backdoors intentionally left open, Karaismailoğlu said, "Using foreign-origin software is always a risk factor for our cybersecurity. We see cybersecurity as part of our national security. Just as in every area related to national security, developing and using domestic and national products, resources, and methods in ensuring our national cybersecurity is extremely important."
Karaismailoğlu concluded his speech by saying, "I am fully confident that in the next process, we will make the most efficient use of the upcoming period for the development of these products and their use both in our domestic market and in foreign markets. In an environment where competition in our sector is so intense, targeting time-focused success and commercializing our products within the maximum 1-1.5 years ahead is very important. I want to emphasize once again how important it is to take all actions and measures. My most important request is for all stakeholders to sincerely fulfill their duties to make the best use of this opportunity."
Deputy Minister Sayan: We Succeeded Despite Very Limited Resources
Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan also emphasized that the transition to 5G was achieved through domestic and national production despite very limited resources. Sayan said, “Your valuable contributions are also present in the products demonstrated here. Especially in terms of interoperability between foreign suppliers' network products and our domestically and nationally produced products, the support you provided, empowered by BTK's regulations, is very valuable to us. I hope that these contributions will continue to increase in the upcoming studies.”
President Karagözoğlu: We Must Be Among the Countries Producing in the 5G Field
Information and Communication Technologies Authority President Ömer Abdullah Karagözoğlu stated that the extent to which these technologies affect our lives and the fact that this effect will multiply especially with 5G necessitates that we, as a country, be among the producing countries. Karagözoğlu said, “For this reason, as BTK, we are updating our regulations step by step, learning from our experiences and contributing to increasing our domestic and national production capabilities. In line with the policies we will determine with our Ministry, we are conducting our studies to transition to 5G with our domestic and national products. We consider the support of mobile operators in the product development stages of our producers within the scope of the project to be extremely important, and I wish for this collaboration to continue increasingly in this endless journey. In addition, I want to emphasize once again the importance of network operators providing technical support as well as including the developed products in their networks. I think these supports are quite valuable both in meeting obligations and ensuring the continuity of product development.”
Following the speeches, Minister Karaismailoğlu made the first voice call over the domestically and nationally developed 5G infrastructure using a 5G mobile phone.