Türk Telekom to offer ‘5G-like’ Internet after Korea Telecom deal

“We will bring 5G Internet to Turkey by April 1 in line with our cooperation deal with Korea Telecom. Our customers will enjoy one of the speediest mobile Internet experiences of the world,” said Türk Telekom Group CEO Rami Aslan in a press release. 

The deal was inked on Feb. 22 at the Barcelona fair with the participation of C-levels from both countries as well as leading telecommunications authorities, according to the press release. 

In line with the cooperation deal, Türk Telekom will combine 4.5G services, which are already offered by Korea Telecom in South Korea, with its Wi-Fi connection, enabling mobile phones to reach speeds of 1 gigabit per second, as fast as 5G technologies offer, said the company. 

“We are ready to offer the highest 4.5G capacity to Turkey with our 1800 MHz frequencies and wider fiber infrastructure very soon… In line with our deal with Korea Telecom, we will be offering 5G-like technologies to our customers,” he noted. 

Turkey’s three existing mobile operators won the rights to the country’s advanced 4G network, dubbed 4.5G in Turkey, due to be established for a sum of more than 3.9 billion euros, in an Aug. 26, 2015, tender held by the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK). 

As of April 1, new services are expected to be provided using the frequency bands which were allocated after the tender.