Turkey: Broadband Internet subscribers top 59 million

ANKARA (AA) – The number of broadband Internet subscribers in Turkey has topped 59 million, while the ranks of cellphone subscribers number nearly 75 million, the nation’s communications minister said Tuesday.

Ahmet Arslan told Anadolu Agency that in the third quarter of this year the number of broadband Internet subscribers in Turkey reached 59.1 million, the vast majority – 83 percent – of them mobile broadband Internet users.

Arslan also said the number of cellphone subscribers in Turkey had reached 74.5 million, 61.3 percent of them advanced fourth-generation (4G or 4.5G in Turkey) users.

Turkey’s total population stood at 78.7 million in 2015, according to the country’s statistics authority TurkStat.

“Since going operational on April 1, advanced 4.5G telecom services have been rapidly embraced by consumers, and our people have gotten used to high-speed mobile data. Monthly mobile data use per person rose to 2.2 gigabytes,” said Arslan.

Arslan also said the total revenue of licensed electronic communication services providers rose 12 percent in the third quarter, compared to the same period in 2015.

“Over 600 business licensed by the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (ICTA) got 11.6 billion Turkish liras ($3.7 billion) in revenue in the third quarter of this year, and they invested 1.4 billion Turkish liras ($460 million) in the same period,” Arslan added.

Turkey’s three mobile operators – Turkcell, Vodafone, and Turk Telekom – won the rights to the country’s advanced 4.5G network after paying more than €3.9 billion ($4.5 billion) in an ICTA tender last year.