Turks' cell phone use the highest in Europe

ANKARA - Anadolu Agency

Turks speak on their mobile phones for an average of 323 minutes per month. DHA photo

Turks have the highest cell phone use in Europe, talking on average 323 minutes per month during the second quarter of this year, according to data provided by Communication Minister Binali Yıldırım.

The total mobile traffic volume rose by 11.3 percent and surpassed 47.7 billion minutes in the second quarter, Yıldırım added.

While Turks continued to talk on the phone, they have become less interested in text-messaging, with a boost in internet usage seen, boosted by rising smart phone and tablet usage. In the second quarter, SMS usage dropped by 2 percent, while internet subscriptions jumped 12 percent.

The number of broadband subscriptions in the country has also surpassed 20.5 million, while 12.4 million of these are mobile internet users. Mobile internet usage skyrocketed in the first half of this year by 81 percent, reaching a total of 25 terabytes.

Minister Yıldırım put particular emphasis on the country’s broadband connection growth, claiming that broadband access services had become one of the most prominent indicators of a country's development level in the process of transforming into an "information society." Broadband subscriber numbers in Turkey were below 20,000 10 years ago, he also reminded.

Internet usage via mobile computers and phones has been surging globally, but Turks’ increasing interest and involvement in technology and communication stands out among others. For example, two-thirds of mobile data users prefer 3G technologies, while only one-third of the European mobile data users have 3G subscriptions.

As utilization rates of mobile data surge, the share of data income within mobile operator’s revenues reached 18 percent in the first half of 2013. In 2011 this figure was 7.3 percent, and in 2012 it was 11 percent. The information sector has raised its revenues to around $45 billion, from $11 billion 10 years ago, Yıldırım added.