Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Adil Karaismailoğlu, who recently paid a visit to Türksat Gölbaşı Headquarters, stated that during fight against the new type of coronavirus (COVID-19), record usage of the e-Government Portal took place. On a monthly average, 300 million transactions were being carried on the e-Government Portal, but during the months of April and May, it reached 500 million.
Karaismailoğlu noted that in terms of satellite broadcasting, Turkey is an important actor, which appeals to Asian, European and African countries. Karaismailoğlu spoke in regards to new satellite operations by saying the following:
Türksat 5A communication satellite will be launched into space at the last quarter of this year, Türksat 5B communication satellite in the second quarter of 2021, and the Türksat 6A communication satellite in 2022. When our communication satellites reach space, our country will have a say in the world in terms of image, voice and data communication with our other value-added services. On the 100th anniversary of our republic, Turkey will take its place among the 10 countries capable of manufacturing communication satellites.
Reminding everyone of the Türksat 6A domestic satellite project contract which was signed on December 15, 2014, Karaismailoğlu said that the project in question was the product of joint efforts displayed by the Ministry and establishments such as Türksat, TÜBİTAK, TUSAŞ, ASELSAN and CTech.
“Our aim is to increase the number of Kablo TV subscribers to 1 million 400 thousand”
Pointing out that Türksat provides television, broadband internet and telephone service through its cable infrastructure, Karaismailoğlu said, “We anticipate that the number of cable TV subscribers, which is currently at 1 million 300 thousand will increase to 1 million 400 thousand by the end of the year. It is our priority to increase the number of Kablonet subscribers which is currently over 1 million to 1 million 100 thousand by the end of the year.”
After providing information about Türksat’s new strategic projects, Karaismailoğlu said:
It is vital to develop and protect the satellite communication capacity of our nation. It is noteworthy that our cable TV infrastructure be used actively and profitably, and that broadcasters are provided with high quality services. We support your efforts for information security by expanding value added IT services. We are closely following all kinds of investment plans regarding this and we want state that we are with you.
After mentioning the important investment projects of Türksat, Karaismailoğlu noted that the Ankara Macunköy Backup Data Center Project was still on going, and that the Ankara Backup Satellite System Project and Ankara Gölbaşı Data Center Project were among planned investments.
“Average monthly transactions have reached 500 million”
During the combat efforts against the COVID-19 outbreak, by stating that life fits at home, Karaismailoğlu continued his words as follows:
Especially with the services provided by our ministry, the e-Government Portal was used intensively for services, particularly for PTT mask requests, social aid requests, inquiry of Ministry of Interior e-applications, along with the creation and inquiry of the Ministry of Health’s HES code. I would like to thank Türksat for smoothly carrying out e-Government Portal services, despite the constant and intense usage.
Referring to the company’s value added IT services, Karaismailoğlu said, “We predict that by the end of 2020, the number of public institutions providing service through the e-Government Portal will reach 710.”
After emphasizing that the “national fight” displayed as a country against the COVID-19 outbreak was a great success, Karaismailoğlu noted that under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, as a state with foresight, decision making and with complete unity and cooperation shown as a nation, a new period of normalization has started.
Karaismailoğlu noted that Türksat has taken on an important responsibility during this new period in time and the devoted work effort is ongoing. In regards to the services implemented as part of the fight against the epidemic, he said:
TRT educational channels were broadcasted via satellite and cable TV. Quota usage by our students, who received their education from EBA because they were not able to attend school, was not deducted. Healthcare workers who use our services were given 100 gigabytes for 3 months, and 25 gigabytes of additional quota was given to each subscriber. April, May and June payment terms of satellite and cable TV broadcasters were postponed to September 30, 2020.
“Türksat completed the first three months of 2020 with an operating profit of 101 million TRY”
During Türksat CEO Cenk Şen’s presentation given as part of the visit, he noted that they responsible for carrying out operations concerning Türksat 3A, Türksat 4A and Türksat 4B satellites.
Şen, who touched up on Türksat’s services, said, “We provide the infrastructure for the electronic delivery of public services, we are responsible for the realization of turnkey projects and the operation of the e-Government Portal.”
Şen noted that the current investment value, which finished its first three months with an operating profit of 101 million TRY in 2020, has reached 10.2 billion TRY.