Turkcell, Aselsan sign 5G technology framework deal

Turkcell, the leading mobile operator in Turkey by subscribers, has signed a framework agreement with defence systems company Aselsan to develop 5G technologies, according to Hurriyet Daily News, citing a statement from Turkcell. The two companies will develop a 5G technology roadmap and work together in ‘local and global markets’, with a view to making Turkey ’a hub for the future’s 5G technologies’.

As previously reported by TeleGeography’s CommsUpdate, the Turkish Ministry of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications announced on 15 May that the country’s auction of 4G spectrum – originally scheduled to take place on 26 May 2015 – had been postponed until 26 August. The decision followed a statement from Turkey’s President Recap Tayyip Erdogan, in which he commented: ‘It is not necessary to waste time with 4G,’ before advising that the country’s mobile sector should move to 5G technology ‘within the next two years.’