Turkcell establishes German VNO

Michael Carroll | October 11, 2010

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Turkcell will establish a virtual network in Germany in 1Q11, after agreeing a five-year wholesale deal with incumbent Deutsche Telekom

The Turkish carrier signed the agreement to access Deutsche Telekom’s 3G network late last week, and will initially target services at around 3.5 million Turks currently living in Germany as it bids to take 4% of the market, WSJ.com reported.

It will abolish roaming rates for German customers calling Turkey to boost usage, the Journal said.

Turkcell is expanding globally as its home market contracts and because new domestic regulations have cut tariffs, Bloomberg said.

Mobile penetration in the country has fallen steadily from 92% in 2008 to 85% by end-June, the news site reported.

Turkcell is the dominant player in Turkey, with its 55% market share more than double that of nearest competitor Vodafone and third-placed Avea, which hold 26% and 19% respectively.

The operator grew 2Q profits from $242.3 million (€173.7 million) to $268.4 million year-on-year, though the first half figure fell $62 million.

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Michael Carroll