Tender for 5G planned in August, says Minister
ANKARA
Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu has announced that Türkiye is preparing to hold the long-anticipated 5G tender in August this year.
The 5G service is expected to become operational in 2026, Uraloğlu said.
The 5G deployment will follow a phased approach, similar to the rollout of 4.5G, the minister added.
“Rather than covering the entire country in the initial phase, we’re considering starting with densely populated provinces. We plan to proceed gradually within a program,” Uraloğlu explained.
Uraloğlu highlighted the extensive collaboration between key government institutions and telecom operators in paving the way for Türkiye’s 5G transition.
“We’ve engaged in discussions with operators — both one-on-one and in groups,” Uraloğlu said. “We also held joint meetings with the Industry and Technology Ministry and Treasury and Finance Ministry, all coordinated by the Vice President [Cevdet Yılmaz],” he added.
“As the transport minister, my expectation is more investment—plain and simple. Instead of seeking to increase public revenue, our focus is on delivering a stronger communication infrastructure and making 5G widely available,” Uraloğlu said.
According to the latest data from the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK), Türkiye’s mobile subscriber base reached 94.3 million with a penetration of 110.1 percent.
The number of 4.5G subscribers rose to 87.7 million as of the end of 2024, showed BTK data.
