Turkcell seeks extension of licences to 2045, media says
ISTANBUL - Turkish mobile phone operator Turkcell has requested that its current licences be extended until 2045 and expects a 5G tender to be held this year, its Chief Executive Ali Taha Koc was reported on Tuesday as telling journalists.
Koc was also cited as saying by the ekonomim.com news website that if Turkey's current fibre infrastructure were sold off, the estimated valuation was $2.5 billion.
"As Turkcell, we request that the current licences be extended until 2045 along with the 5G licence," he was quoted as saying, noting that 2G, 3G and 4G licences will expire in 2029.
Turk Telekom owns and maintains 78% of Turkey's 577,000-kilometre (359,000-mile) national fibre network through a concession agreement that is set to expire in 2026.
Last November, a senior official told Reuters that Turkey was considering adopting a unified fibre optic telecoms entity to expand its network, signalling it could create a separate manager for the expensive infrastructure investments, though no decision on this has been announced.
"We need fibre optic cable infrastructure," Koc was reported as saying. "We have put bulk fibre infrastructure purchase as an option to move forward quickly, especially in 5G. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare the financing."
"If the fibre cable infrastructure of the operator in question is put out to tender, a value of $2.5 billion could be possible," he added.
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