KKTCell secures 247MHz of 4G/5G spectrum in seven bands

Turkcell has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Kuzey Kibris Turkcell (KKTCell), which operates in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), has participated in the Information Technologies and Communication Authority’s (Bilgi Teknolojileri ve Haberlesme Kurumu, BTHK’s) 4G/5G spectrum auction, held on 2 November 2022. KKTCell bid USD16.462 million for a total of 247MHz of spectrum in the 700MHz, 800MHz, 900MHz, 1800MHz, 2100MHz, 2600MHz and 3600MHz bands, and will receive a 4G licence with 18-year validity and a 5G licence with 20-year validity.

The BTHK was initially planning to award 16 blocks of spectrum to the two existing mobile operators in the TRNC, KKTC Telsim and KKTCell, in October (subsequently postponed due to an objection lodged with the Competition Board). The 4G authorisations will require successful bidders to deploy 4G technology with minimum downlink of 30Mbps ten months after licence award. Regarding 5G, licence holders will have three years to deploy 5G with minimum download speeds of 100Mbps to 60% of the population (95% within five years of licence award).