Turkey is preparing to usher in the 5G era with a national tender for frequency bands scheduled for October 16, 2025, paving the way for commercial service rollout in April 2026. The announcement was made by Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, signaling a landmark shift in the country’s digital infrastructure.
The tender will be open to licensed operators offering GSM and 4.5G services, including Turkcell, Türk Telekom, and Vodafone Turkey. A total of 11 frequency packages — across the 700 MHz and 3.5 GHz bands — will be auctioned, amounting to 400 MHz of spectrum with an estimated value exceeding $2.125 billion. Technical specifications have already been published in the official gazette.
New licenses will be valid until December 31, 2044, and require operators to contribute 5% of annual revenues to the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) in addition to tender costs. The move coincides with the expiration of existing network licenses in 2029.
The transition is expected to deliver faster data speeds, improved mobile connectivity, and support technologies such as autonomous vehicles, smart cities, and industrial automation. It also reinforces Turkey’s national strategy to become a regional digital hub and attract international telecom investment.
