Turkey hoping to hold 5G tender in August, minister says
ISTANBUL, June 22 (Reuters) - Turkey's transport and infrastructure minister said the country was hoping to hold a tender for 5G network services in August, adding that the mobile communication service was expected to start next year.
"I think we will hold this tender in August if there are no issues," Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu told reporters in Istanbul during a briefing.
"Instead of covering the entire country in the first stage, I think we will cover the densely populated provinces (first) and roll out this process gradually within the framework of the programme, this was the case in 4.5G as well," he added.
Asked about the impact on aviation of the Iran-Israel conflict, Uraloglu said Turkish airline companies had seven civilian aircraft stranded in Iran currently and four others in Iraq due to the closure of airspace in the region.
"We are following this up through our foreign ministry and MIT (intelligence agency). Given that air traffic is very intense in this region, neither us nor the relevant countries could take that risk," Uraloglu said.
"At the first opportunity we will bring them back," he added, referring to the planes, which he said belonged to Turkish Airlines (THYAO.IS), opens new tab, its subsidiary AJet, Pegasus Airlines (PGSUS.IS), opens new tab and Tailwind Airlines.
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