Turkey flexes space muscles with new satellites

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - With new communication satellites, Turksat 5A, 5B and 6A, Turkey will be more powerful in space, the Turkish transport and infrastructure minister said on Thursday.

Turksat 5A will be launched this month and 5B in the second quarter of 2021, Adil Karaismailoglu announced during the 13th International Conference on Information Security and Cryptology, organized virtually.

The minister said Turkey aims to become a logistical superpower in its region, to create a sustainable data network and to provide digitalization in all fields.

The ministry's strategies for the 2020-2023 period are developing the country's economy, protecting social life, providing national security and becoming an international brand in the cybersecurity field, he stressed.

The minister said Turkey will strengthen critical infrastructure systems, develop national capability, create a cyber security network, provide the security of new technologies, fight against cybercrimes, develop indigenous technologies and improve international cooperation in the same period.

As a strong country, Turkey is ready to catch up with the world's digital transformation speed. Healthy and secure data transfer is the foundation of a strong economy, he added.

- Technology changes every field

Ali Taha Koc, head of Turkey's Digital Transformation Office, stressed information is an element of power and domination since the beginning of life.

"With the rapid development in the Internet and mobile devices, data production has increased even more," he noted, underlining that the data amount, generated in the last two years, was more than the total data generated since the beginning of life.

He highlighted that technology changed every field of life, including business models, shopping habits and education.

"In the near future, between 2021 and 2025, standard smartphones will be able to communicate without the need for additional equipment by connecting to low-orbit communication satellites via 5G base stations," he said.

Omer Abdullah Karagozoglu, the chairman of Turkey's Information and Communication Technologies Authority, said the pandemic showed the importance of information and communication technologies.

“As physical distances increased, we were connected to each other via technology,” he stressed and added people continued education, meetings, and social relations remotely during the pandemic period.