2016 Turkey - Telecoms, Mobile, Broadband and Digital Media - Statistics and Analysis

Mobile data revenue clearly growing in Turkey

Revenue from mobile data is quickly edging towards a 40% market share in Turkey, while mobile voice revenue is clearly in decline. In 2013 mobile voice revenues still accounted for more than 65% market share of total mobile revenues in Turkey - but by early 2016 this had declined to just under 50%.

In 2016 there is also a clear trend that the number of 2G subscribers is in decline as customers turn to 3G services instead. In early 2016 there were around 66 million 3G subscribers, compared to around 8 million for 2G. This is a drop from 2013 when there were still around 20 million 2G subscribers in Turkey. In 2016 4G LTE services were also launched in Turkey.

Turkcell is also beginning to feel the pressure from alternative operators with its mobile subscriber base beginning to fall in recent years while both Vodafone and Turk Telekom (formerly Avea) increase their subscriber market shares. However, the recent abolishment of the mobile voice and SMS price regulation which was imposed upon Turkcell in 2009 will assist in allowing it to become more competitive again.

While mobile broadband is the most popular broadband platform in Turkey; xDSL continues to represent the majority of fixed broadband subscriptions due to the reach of Turk Telekom’s copper network. xDSL will eventually lose its dominance however due to the rapid growth in fibre subscriptions. In 2016 there are over 7.3 million subscribers to xDSL services. Fixed broadband services based on fibre are quickly growing in Turkey with subscriber number growing three-fold since 2013. In 2016 there were over 1.8 million fibre broadband subscribers across Turkey.

The strong broadband sector in Turkey has led to a vibrant e-commerce sector which has attracted international interest in recent years, including companies such as eBay and PayPal. However, concerns have arisen in 2016 that tighter government regulations, requiring companies to be more localised, are stifling the market. In mid-2016 PayPal suspended its services in Turkey after failing to be granted a new license - due to not operating a local IT system.

Key telecom parameters – 2013; 2016

(Source: BuddeComm based on industry data)

Key developments:

• Mobile penetration in Turkey hovers just under 100% in 2016.
• The three major operators, Turkcell, Vodafone Turkey and Turk Telekom all launched 4G LTE services in April 2016.
• By the end of 2015; Turk Telekom’s 2G network had 98.5% population coverage and its 3G network covered 85.4% of the population.
• TTNet and Superonline are the largest ISPs in Turkey, based on subscriber market share.
• Turkey is positioning itself as an important node for data traffic on a global scale.
• Turkey is very proactive in development e-government services and solutions.
• A joint venture is in development between the major players which would see shared investment towards broadband infrastructure and usage.

Companies mentioned in this report include:

Turk Telekom (formerly Avea), Turkcell, Vodafone Turkey, Turksat, TTNet, Superonline, Vodafone Net, Dogan TV Digital, Turknet, Millenicom, GittiGidiyor, Facebook, Spotify.