Turkcell renews offer to establish joint fiber infrastructure company due to skyrocketing costs

Turkcell has renewed an offer to establish a joint fiber infrastructure company with other operators due to the high cost of acting separately, according to Chief Technology Officer ?lker Kuruöz.

"Operators would need to invest a total of $16.5 billion if they decide not to establish a joint fiber infrastructure company. If they act together, this figure would go down to $3.9 billion, so that's $12.6 billion that won't go to waste. This amount is equal to one year of the national income of the world's five poorest countries [Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, Burundi, Somalia and Swaziland]. If we act together, we could allocate this amount to value added services and R&D activities," Kuruöz said.

Kuruöz made the comments during a meeting with a group of journalists attending CES 2016 in Las Vegas. Kuruöz emphasized the importance of undertaking a joint investment in fiber given its importance for 4.5G performance.

In September 2015, Turkcell CEO Kaan Terzio?lu called on other operators to establish an infrastructure company and transfer all their fiber networks to the new entity. Vodafone CEO Gökhan Ö?üt supported Terzio?lu's call, but Türk Telekom Group CEO Rami Aslan said those who failed to make investments in the pre-4.5G period should not now be given a free ride, adding that such groups were becoming worried.

Moving together with Vodafone

Turkcell, however, has continued to insist on the issue of establishing a joint fiber infrastructure company. 

"We are insistent on the issue that three operators should take a joint action. We don't want to give up from the start, but we are in contact with Vodafone over fiber in provinces in which we are planning to invest. We have been discussing joint investments...