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The European Investment Bank (EIB), the financing institution of the European Union, and an accompanying delegation has visited the Avea R&D Centre, which is the first GSM operator to have a licensed research and development centre in Turkey. Pier Luigi Gilibert, Chief Executive of the European Investment Fund (EIF), paid close attention to the home-grown technology projects which were developed at the centre and said that the Türk Telekom Group was the market leader with its innovations in both Turkey and the region.

Türk Telekom Group hosted the executives from the EIB and EIF at Avea’s R&D Centre, which is one of the most important R&D centres in Turkey in the field of communication technology. The delegation headed by EIB Vice-President and Management Committee member Pim Van Ballekom and EIF Chief Executive Pier Luigi Gilibert inspected the Türk Telekom Group’s Avea R&D Centre and received detailed information on the state-of-the-art technology products and services produced in Turkey.

Türk Telekom Group is also a pioneer in the regional market with its innovative R&D works

During the visit hosted by Group Technology Deputy General Manager Coşkun Şahin, EIB Vice-President Pim Van Ballekom stated: “I am delighted to visit Türk Telekom following our successful cooperation in the fields of R&D and broadband rollout. I am very proud that we have supported your research and development programmes since 2011. Supporting innovation and skills is a major part of our role as the EU’s bank. We believe that future economic growth and jobs will increasingly have to come from innovation in products, services and business models. Increasingly, every business is a digital business! So high-speed internet, mobile networks and cloud computing are priority areas for EIB activities in Turkey. Information and communications technology will continue to be an essential driver of productivity growth. The EIB Group remains committed to the development of innovation in Turkey, where the EIF has recently supported Turkey’s first technology transfer fund”.

The priority of R&D is to develop technologies that will set future innovation standards.

Indicating that the only way to achieve sustainable growth is through technology development and innovation, Group Technology Deputy General Manager Coşkun Şahin said: “In line with its mission to create pioneering communication technologies, Türk Telekom Group continues to make R&D investments and develop applications that will shape the future as a technology company. The R&D works carried out with the aim of the digital conversion of Turkey, render technology accessible to everyone without making any regional discrimination. As the Türk Telekom Group, we are positioning the Avea R&D Centre, which is the first operator with a licensed R&D centre in Turkey, as a technology base. We have been developing numerous innovative special products and projects for both corporate and individual customers through local and international cooperation. We set a new record last week during the 4G speed test with a speed of 3.6 Gigabits per second. With this result we quadrupled the previous speed record for Turkey. As the Türk Telekom Group, our top priority is to develop technologies that will set the innovation standards of the future. We are striving to build a growth economy based on indigenous technology development in Turkey. In line with this vision, we believe that we will continue to add value to our country and achieve the goal of becoming an information society by 2023.”

Türk Telekom accelerates the country’s digital conversion with its R&D efforts.

Coşkun Şahin indicated that as one of the biggest integrated operators in the world and with their financial and operational strength they had been developing future technology and said:

“As for the Türk Telekom Group, we continue to take the lead among the companies that invest most, especially in R&D. Our investments have exceeded TRY 15 billion since 2005 and our R&D investments have a key importance in sustaining our pioneering position in the market. Within the scope of the Avea R&D operations alone, we have been adding value to Turkey for the last four years with our investments, with an amount of more than TRY 122 million. We are working to bring customers together with top quality innovative products and services in a rapid way with the aim of superior customer satisfaction. We are aiming to accelerate the digital conversion of our country through our advanced R&D efforts.”

Avea R&D Centre, employing more than 200 researchers, conducts studies especially on mobile network technologies and mobile services. While the centre is also continuing its research into M2M, large data and high speed data transfer, it also hosts 13 private projects, which are conducted with the support of the Turkish government, in addition to the R&D projects of the Türk Telekom Group. During this research, collaborative activities with various highly esteemed Turkish and foreign universities have been conducted. Hosting new initiatives in its Incubation Centre, the centre has to date acquired 70 patents.