In a meeting with Pakistani delegation, the top brass of Turk Cell showed keen interest in visiting Pakistan very soon in context of forthcoming spectrum auction.
The meeting was held during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Turk Cell was represented by Mr. Ahmet Akca, Chairman, Mr. Sureyya Ciliv, CEO and Dr. Tayfun Cataltepe, Business Chief Officer.
Both sides shared sentiments regarding deep and concerted bi-lateral relations between Pakistan and Turkey. Minister of IT Ms. Anusha Rehman expressed the commitment of the government to facilitate the investors and highlighted that Pakistan has shown 7% growth rate over recent months which was unprecedented and certainly very encouraging for investors.
With special focus on telecom sector, she emphasized that 98% of Pakistani population is still to be connected with broadband services (3G/4G/LTE) which indicates an enormous opportunity for the companies to invest in this area with a surety of decent returns.
Spectrum in 850 MHz band is made available for new entrants to provide them level playing field. Also, Ministry of IT has included additional spectrum in 1800 MHz band for auction for speeding up the proliferation of 4G services in Pakistan.
The Chairman, Turk Cell appreciated the vision and efforts of the Pakistani government for provision of latest technologies and services to the people of Pakistan. CEO, Turk Cell shared the initiatives which Turk Cell had undertaken to disseminate e-services in Turkey particularly in areas of e-health and e-education.
The Chairman, Turk Cell considered Pakistan as a flourishing market offering a huge potential for investment in telecom sector. A high level delegation of Turk Cell is expected to visit Pakistan to study the market more closely.
Minister of State for IT ensured him that the government and regulator (PTA) would support and facilitate the telecom industry. The Pakistani delegation included Minister of State for IT, Secretary IT, Chairman PTA, Member Telecom and Executive Director FAB.
TurkCell – a public limited company listed in New York Stock Exchange – operates in Turkey with 52 percent market share in the local market. Its international operations – through holdings and affiliates — includes GSM services in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukrain.
If this government does this 3G thing right, hats off to them! (considering previous government).
Interesting to note that 850 MHz is also being mentioned, which is the old Instaphone & Zong spectrum. So, in easence we will have potentially 6 or 7 spectrum blocks for auction (3 in 2.1 GHz, 2 in 1800 & 2 in 850). While 4G is being touted, we will get HSPA+ as ideally one needs 15 MHz block in 1800 to roll out 4G — but, I am sure I can live with HSPA+. I would also be happy to see at least 2 new operators to break up the existing status quo in telecom market. It will be good for jobs, OEMs, and 3rd party contractors