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Türkiye's Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said the 5G auction will generate at least $2.125 billion in revenue for the state treasury, with the auction's first signals expected in early April 2026.
"The share we will receive from the public from the 5G auction will be $2.125 billion. This is our starting point. We are not expecting a price below that; it will be above that," Uraloglu said during a state-run Anadolu Agency (AA) exclusive broadcast at the Information Technologies and Communication Authority on Wednesday.
Uraloglu said three operators will participate in the auction.
"We will see their prowess there. We will follow the figures together accordingly," he said.
The minister said 5G will begin deployment in densely populated areas, including the Marmara Region and cities such as Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Kocaeli, Bursa and Konya, where the first signals will be received.
The transition to 5G will occur region by region, Uraloglu said. "The coverage process will take one year to cover all of Türkiye, maybe a little more. Because a serious amount of equipment will be placed and replaced in the field," Uraloglu added.
"As a ministry, our first priority is that the service be of the best quality and most widespread," he said.
Uraloglu said tests with 5G achieved speeds ranging from 100 megabits to 1 gigabit, with speeds varying depending on whether the environment is closed or open and the number of users.
During a live 5G speed test on the AA broadcast, Uraloglu reported results showing download speeds reaching 1,876 megabits. "The upload speed is around 175 megabits. This is sufficient for us. These figures are the numbers that confirm and test our speed in 5G. These are figures showing we have reached 10 times more speed compared to 4.5G," Uraloglu noted.
Uraloglu said domestic production priorities exist for 5G, emphasizing efforts to use domestic and national products as much as possible and to include the Communication Technologies Cluster, which produces domestically, in the 5G process.
"This is one of the big investments. The revenue we will give to the Treasury will be above $2.125 billion. I can say its contribution to Türkiye's economy will be billions of dollars," Uraloglu said.
"We had envisaged a 45% domestic content rate in 4.5G. Our current figure is 52%; we have exceeded that. We envisage a 60% domestic content rate for 5G. At least 30% of the domestic content must come from products whose all rights belong to Türkiye; we are setting our condition like this," he added.
Uraloglu also noted that they have provided much support to date with the Transportation, Communication, and Maritime Research Center and TUBITAK to encourage domestically produced companies.
"We say to the three operators, discuss with them, commit to developing a product they want, and let us support you. Product-oriented supports have started to emerge from here. This is valuable for us. We will continue to support this," Uraloglu stated.
Türkiye has approximately 96 million mobile subscribers, with about 11 million being machine-to-machine communication subscribers, Uraloglu revealed.
Approximately 85 million phone-using subscribers exist, Uraloglu said, adding, "Of these, 22 million, about a quarter, are 5G-compatible phones."
Those using 4.5G SIM cards are already compatible without problems, Uraloglu said. Regarding 2G and 3G users, particularly 2G, Uraloglu noted these networks have the capability for voice transmission and messaging.
"They will not be able to use it; if they want to use it, they will need to change both their phone and their SIM card," Uraloglu said.
Regarding whether operators will offer campaigns for 5G-compatible devices, Uraloglu noted that such campaigns will definitely occur to support widespread adoption.
"Because they will make very serious investments. Their campaigns will be in the sense of ensuring the return on that investment. Of course, we will also support this," Uraloglu said.
Regarding operators' concession contracts for 2G, 3G, and 4.5G that will expire in 2029, Uraloglu said contracts ending in 2029 for 2G and 3G will be automatically extended with the 5G auction.
"Subsequently, the state will receive 5% of the turnover obtained from these services," Uraloglu said.
He noted 3G and 4.5G will no longer have significance, with 2G only continuing for voice transmission and messaging.
Uraloglu said smart transportation systems will be tested with 5G on a 40-kilometer stretch between Hasdal and Istanbul Airport, where sensors have been installed, and the application will likely be activated next month.
With the system, when an accident occurs several kilometers ahead on roads, drivers will receive warnings about the accident even though they cannot physically see it, Uraloglu said.
"Energy efficiency will provide 30% energy savings compared to 4.5G," Uraloglu said, adding that robots will be used effectively with less delay, and this will contribute to work being done faster and more professionally.
"The technology will accelerate the internet of things and have effects on remotely conducted agricultural irrigation applications," he added.
Uraloglu noted cyber security will become an issue with the transition to 5G technology, saying BTK has a National Cyber Incident Response Center that monitors 17 million IP addresses 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
"With speed, risk increases, but especially with our domestic software and artificial intelligence, you need to prevent attacks. Türkiye is one of the role model countries in Europe in this sense," Uraloglu said.
"According to the International Telecommunication Union's criteria, we do this work well. We have our Cyber Incident Response Center. There are risks in general, of course, but I can say we are a successful country," he noted.
Providing information about 6G studies, Uraloglu said processes related to this have been initiated worldwide, and they do not want to miss this process.
"The biggest support we give is actually the condition we put in the auction. We say, 'You will go and buy from domestic producers.' Therefore, as we support them, we cannot hold back our entrepreneurs. They already take whatever exists in the world. Conversely or beyond that, they exceed it. Therefore, I congratulate them," Uraloglu said.
"We will continue to support this 6G process, both materially and morally, as in 5G. So I can say the first endeavors have also started in our country," he concluded.
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