Turksat aims to become global player in 2026

ANKARA

Türkiye's sole satellite operator, Türksat, aims to become a global player in 2026 through activities such as the expansion of the country's e-Government Gateway to neighboring countries, the company's CEO has said.

Speaking to the state-run Anadolu Agency, Ahmet Hamdi Atalay stated that the firm focused on corporate transformation this year, carrying out infrastructure work to expand into other areas.

“We started working on an in-flight Internet connection (IFC) project, which will position us as a regional and then a global player,” he said.

“We signed an IFC project deal with AJet — Türkiye's low-cost airline — in which we developed our own proprietary software, which we will be rolling out next year,” he stated.

“Previously, there was no internet service in the ‘low-cost, regional’ airline segment, so ours will be a first,” he added.

Atalay also stated that many public services in Türkiye have been digitalized and are accessible on the e-Government Portal.

“Some 8,800 services are offered on e-Government, and around 4 billion operations have been made by citizens this year alone,” he said.

“We developed a much more compact version of this with newer technology for Turkish Cyprus,” he added.

Noting that they wish to sell this experience to allied countries, with many showing interest,” he said: “Discussions are ongoing with our neighbor, Romania, and we are working closely with countries in our immediate vicinity."

“Until now, we mainly focused on domestic activities, and we reached a certain point — our goal for 2026 and beyond is to become a regional and then a global player in both satellite services and other service sectors,” he added.