The 5G era has begun in Türkiye: Erdogan pressed the button, 81 provinces switched to 5G at the same time

Türkiye has moved to a new page in the history of mobile communications. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan officially announced Türkiye’s transition to 5G at a ceremony held at the Presidential Complex today. At the ceremony, Erdogan established a live connection with the provinces of Istanbul, Çanakkale, Rize, Hatay, Mardin and Bitlis via the 5G network, and then gave instructions for 5G activation in 81 provinces. It was learned that these six provinces were consciously chosen to convey the message that “the north, south, east and west of the country are switching to 5G at the same time.”

At the end of the ceremony, after Erdogan gave instructions to activate 5G throughout the country, operators started the network activation process. It is aimed that 5G activation throughout Türkiye will take place within 1.5 hours and 5G will be activated nationwide approximately around 17.00 in the evening. To be honest, this table is the most important turning point in the 32-year mobile communication journey.

Coverage of 81 provinces and 922 districts from Vodafone

All three major operators arrived ready for launch. Vodafone Türkiye CEO Engin Aksoy announced that they are ready to provide 5G service simultaneously in 81 provinces and 922 districts. Stating that 100 billion TL has been invested in the network in the last 5 years, excluding tender prices, Aksoy stated that 15 thousand people worked throughout the process and all equipment, from the core network to the antennas in the base stations, were modernized. Turkcell CEO Ali Taha Koç stated that they have completed their infrastructure upgrade works and that they have already started to offer early 5G experience in locations such as Istanbul Airport and Ali Sami Yen Stadium.

On the frequency side, the frequency tender, which forms the basis of the 5G infrastructure, was held by the Information Technologies and Communications Authority (BTK) on October 16, 2025. Operators are prepared to offer high capacity and speed with the frequencies they acquired in the 700 MHz and 3.5 GHz bands. A total of 3 billion 534 million dollars of revenue was obtained during this tender process, which was won by Turkcell, Türk Telekom and Vodafone.

Speed ​​increases by 10 times, latency is almost zero

Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu emphasized that with 5G, communication speeds will be 10 times higher than 4.5G. In 5G, the speed previously expressed in megabits reaches gigabit levels. In addition, latency times are reduced to milliseconds, almost zero; This makes a critical difference, especially in areas that require instant response, such as autonomous vehicles and remote health applications.

Minister Uraloğlu stated that with new technology, there will be radical changes in many areas, from smart transportation systems to autonomous driving, from remote health applications to smart factories, from high-definition media broadcasting to agricultural technologies. However, in order for this transformation to be felt immediately, it is not enough to just open the 5G network; compatible devices and infrastructure must also become widespread.

There are 32 million 5G compatible phones, but is yours compatible?

Of the approximately 95 million mobile phones in Türkiye, 32 million seem to be compatible with 5G. While this figure was around 15 million about a year ago, it has doubled today. It was announced that the rate of phones supporting 5G reached 37 percent. 5G incompatible phones will continue to use 4.5G.

It was announced by the operators that iPhone 12 and later models on Apple phones and Galaxy S21 and later models on Samsung phones are 5G compatible. To check if your device is 5G ready, you can look at the “Cellular” or “Mobile Networks” section in the Settings menu; If you see the “5G” option here, your phone is compatible. Turkcell users will be able to activate the service from the application or by typing “5G” and sending an SMS to 2200.

Local and national infrastructure target

It is aimed to make Türkiye stronger and more independent in the digital field by coming together with TÜRKSAT’s contributions in satellite and cable infrastructure, ULAK’s national base stations, and GSM operators’ investments in the field. In the first stage, there is a requirement of 60 percent domestic product and 30 percent national communication product; It is planned to gradually increase domestic and national contribution after 5G is put into use.

On the other hand, Türkiye was quite late in this transition in the world; Many European and Asian countries opened 5G commercially between 2019 and 2021. In line with the authorization agreements, the operators’ authority to offer the 5G network will be valid until December 31, 2042. 5G, which is aimed to reach every point of the country within two years, currently only covers the city centers of 81 provinces. In rural areas, 4.5G will continue to be indispensable for daily life for a while.