Turkcell is deploying a locally-produced “ULAK” base station to bring 4.5G mobile connectivity to rural areas in Anatolia. The deployment, which is part of Turkey’s “Universal Connectivity” project, upgrades 9 villages in the town of Cankiri, which were previously served only with 2G. The agreement with the Turkish government requires 10% use of locally produced base stations.
Turkey’s national base station was 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 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.
“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.”
