THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS SECTOR IS GREATER THAN FIVE

We are witnessing that advancements in critical technologies are often associated with concepts such as national security and national sovereignty, and even secondary status can become synonymous with defeat. The complex conditions of the 21st century have rendered traditional explanations inadequate.

Under the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent chip crisis, imbalances in supply and demand have emerged across many sectors, with telecommunications being particularly affected, and costs have significantly risen. This ongoing situation has clearly demonstrated that some global companies, which are claimed to be managed according to universal governance principles, have preferred to focus on the interests of their home countries and/or selected regions during crises.

Under the war conditions between Russia and Ukraine, the sanctions and restrictions imposed by the US and EU countries on Russia are not limited to traditional rivals. Today, Russia also has to contend with indirect restrictions from its “ally” China. Although the Russia-Ukraine War developed as a result of Russia’s aggressive policies, the direct and indirect restrictions faced by Russia are related not to Russia’s war crimes but to the creation of “suitable” conditions to pressure Russia in the global balance of power.

Under these challenging competitive conditions, while the importance of domestic production and design might be considered a “well-known” reality, we need to ensure that this well-known reality is being closely followed in both discourse and action, especially in critical sectors.

The significant success of the Turkish Defense Industry, which cannot be ignored even by institutions that have made publishing anti-Turkey news a principle, stands out as one of Turkey’s strongest steps in the face of this well-known reality.

The progress made by the Turkish Defense Industry offers valuable opportunities for the widespread adoption of high-quality production disciplines in Turkey. The defense industry, as evidenced by many different examples, holds potential as a supportive and complementary force, particularly for sectors such as telecommunications and cybersecurity. Therefore, failing to reflect the successes achieved in the Turkish Defense Industry in other sectors would represent a significant loss for Turkey.

We should take pride in the contributions of our national military capabilities to our strong military operations, as well as their pioneering role in changing the course of history in critical regions like Azerbaijan, Libya, and Syria, and continue to advance this power further. At the same time, we must question why this power is not felt at a similar level in sectors such as telecommunications, which form the foundation of our age.

With a population exceeding 80 million, Turkey has a domestic market capable of enabling the development of its own products. However, we are not sufficiently benefiting from the price advantages promised by economies of scale in the telecommunications sector. Achieving certain price levels by domestic producers requires sufficient demand and, consequently, reaching production levels.

Except for actors who use the concepts of domesticity and nationalism as marketing tools while trying to increase their commercial activities without a genuine effort to create value, it must be stated without any doubt that our telecommunications sector is ready for competition. For global companies expected to internalize the requirements of competitive conditions through their activities in different countries, making this statement is quite challenging.

In line with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s famous saying, “The world is bigger than five,” examining our telecommunications sector will be sufficient to summarize the current conditions in the industry.

Generally speaking, on a global scale, telecommunications infrastructures are dominated by five companies. As observed in various cases, these monopolistic companies focus not on connecting with their customers but on making their customers dependent on them, fully exploiting their monopolistic power. They may even lower their pricing below cost conditions to drive out competitors they perceive as threats to their monopoly.

Monopolies that place great importance on establishing strong relationships with operators have been reluctant to take necessary actions on the ground while dealing with Turkey’s largest disaster in history.

Under these conditions, expecting that the supply of products from global monopolies will become more difficult in order to create the necessary demand conditions for domestic capabilities will only make it harder for Turkey to maintain its digital sovereignty.

The capabilities of Turkish engineering, which has long met military communication requirements largely with domestic capabilities, must also address the needs of the telecommunications sector as a fundamental necessity.

In this process, we must also understand and be a part of the trends related to open-source-based design and production activities, which are gaining strength in the global telecommunications sector day by day in the face of monopolies.

The telecommunications sector is bigger than five.

Source: Telekomünikasyon Sektörü Beşten Büyüktür (savunmatr.com)