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Information And Communication Technologies

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES (ICT)
Market Size Doubles in Four Years
Turkey’s information and communication technologies (ICT) market reached a size of $23.5 billion in 2007, an increase of 12.4 percent from 2006, according to the Turkish Informatics Industry Association (TÜBİSAD). The market, which more than doubled from 2003, has had double-digit growth over the past five years in contrast to the single digit expansion in the U.S. and the European Union. Telecommunications accounted for $18 billion of the market, while information technologies corresponded for $5.5 billion.
Over the past decade, Turkey’s telecommunication industry has been booming, driven by the market liberalization designed to enhance competition. As the new fixed-line backbone companies and ADSL systems are extended and 3G established, the telecommunications market is expected to grow.
BREAKDOWN OF TURKISH ICT MARKET, 2005-2007
$ billion
Market 2005 2006 2007
Telecommunications 14.3 15.4 18
IT 4.4 5.5 5.5
ICT total 18.7 20.9 23.5
Source: InterPro Marketing Services and Research Group, Turkish Informatics Industry
Association (TÜBİSAD)
Although great momentum has been gained in recent years, the share of ICT in GDP remains around 2.5 percent compared with 8 percent to 10 percent in the European Union. ICT imports widely exceed exports and average spending per person on ICT is around $40 compared to $500 in Western Europe and $1,200 in the USA.
Telecommunications
On January 1, 2005, authorities lifted Türk Telekom’s monopoly on telephony. Türk Telekom itself was partially privatized at the end of 2005 through sale of 55% shares to Oger Telecoms, owned by the family of the slain former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Al-Hariri, for $6.5 billion. The Turkish government plans to sell its remaining stake in 2008 through a public offering.
Key players, which merged with the world’s leading mobile operators, are now closely watching the competition and appraising the quality...