UPDATE - Türkiye's 5G tender soars past $3.5B valuation: Infrastructure minister

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By Mucahithan Avcioglu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Türkiye's 5G technology tender, with the participation of the country's three main telecom operators, reached a value of over $3.5 billion including the value-added tax (VAT), Türkiye's transport and infrastructure minister announced Thursday.

"Today, we held our 5G tender, which will take Türkiye even further in communications," Abdulkadir Uraloglu wrote on Turkish social media platform NSosyal.

"Our target of $2.125 billion, which we set as the minimum value, has reached $3.534 billion with VAT," Uraloglu said.

He thanked Turk Telekom, Turkcell and Vodafone for taking part in the 5G tender, which he said would “make a great contribution to Türkiye's economy."

The 5G service will begin nationwide April 1, and Turks will benefit from the technology without any changes to their current prices, according to Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Omer Fatih Sayan.

"The completed 5G Authorization Tender is more than just a frequency sharing; it is a historic step that solidifies our country's digital sovereignty, economic independence, and national power," said Sayan.

He added that the high speeds, low latency, broad connection capacity and energy efficiency offered by 5G will significantly enhance not only infrastructure but also Türkiye's production power, industry, science and strategic capacity.