Türkiye is preparing for 5G

5G technology, which is planned to be put into service next year and tendered in Türkiye this year, will accelerate communication processes, opening the door to many new opportunities with higher data speeds, lower latency, and larger capacity. Mobile communication technologies in Turkey, which developed with 2G, 3G, and 4.5G, will witness a revolutionary transformation with 5G next year. With the Presidential Decree published in the Official Gazette dated August 16, 2025, the official process of the 5G tender in the field of mobile communications began with the determination of the minimum values. Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu also announced that the tender announcement could be published in the September-October period and that 5G use could be made available nationwide in 2026. Currently, 5G technology in Turkey can be experienced in the stadiums of the four major teams, Istanbul Airport, and around 30 facilities, including the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. 2026 WILL BE THE YEAR OF TRANSFORMATION The findings regarding 5G and beyond technologies in the report prepared by the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) on big data and artificial intelligence revealed the transformation that will take place. According to the report, the advantages that this technology, the number of users of which is gradually increasing around the world, will provide are summarized as follows: - 5G will enable the use of new technologies. It is expected that the recently popular VR applications, the concept of the Internet of Things, autonomous vehicles and the Metaverse experience will gain momentum with 5G technology. Technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, virtual/augmented reality, and the Internet of Things have become rapidly widespread recently. - The Internet will move to higher speeds with 5G. Last year, a speed of 7.5 Gbit/second was reached with this technology in a laboratory environment. The speed measured in real networks exceeded 4.7 Gbit/second. 5G, which will be available in Turkey by 2026, will provide users with high data speeds, lower latency and larger capacity. Data download speeds are expected to decrease to 1-10 milliseconds. - Capacity will increase. 5G, which will have the ability to operate at high capacity, will offer transmission speeds of up to 1 gigabyte to more than 20 billion connected devices. This will bring significant changes in many sectors. - More efficient frequency use and bandwidth will reveal different opportunities. The ultra-fast speeds and capacity that 5G will bring, combined with minimal latency, will also allow for fully customizable service capabilities. - 5G will enable capacity planning according to the service used. By dividing network capacity, called "slicing," the network will be able to allocate resources according to different needs. This feature will allow for the definition of appropriate network features for different floors within a building or even different rooms within the same house. - This technology will enable uninterrupted communication even while moving at high speeds. Smart devices will be able to continue their communications uninterrupted even when moving at speeds of 500 kilometers per hour or more. - Energy savings will also increase with 5G. Smart devices will have more efficient battery usage thanks to the 5G network. Thus, savings of up to 90 percent will be achieved in energy use.