Turkcell General Manager Süreyya Ciliv and his executives, who on Tuesday night hosted editors-in-chief of several newspapers and the executive editors of television stations at the Turkcell Technology Research and Development Center, located in the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) MAM Technology Free Zone in Gebze, presented striking information and demos on their future plans concerning the start of 3G technology, which is expected to be introduced to mobile communication in Turkey on July 30.
Some 320 engineers from global technology and communication giants such as Yahoo, Oracle and Microsoft were brought to the Turkcell center to develop the new technology. The engineers have already prepared several new methods and operations on behalf of Turkcell, which is already looking for new markets to export the new technology to. Finland was the first country to implement the technology in 2000. Now there are close to 100 countries that use 3G technology. Noting that they have turned the delay in the transition to 3G from a disadvantage into an advantage, Ciliv said the cost of building a more up-to-date and modern technological infrastructure was much less than in the past. He explained that Turkcell invested around TL 2-3 billion on infrastructure and technology for the shift to 3G and that Turkcell views this investment not as an option but as a necessity.
In presentations and demonstrations, the Turkcell research and development team introduced around 15 new innovations that will make life easier for users. The teams boasted about their video conferencing systems, clock-shaped telephones, fast Internet connections, a system set up with the support of the municipality that allows for checking real-time traffic conditions and live file-sharing programs, among several other new applications.
Emphasizing that 3G technology will offer so many services that there will be no difference between working in the office and out of the office, Turkcell experts announced the price would not be as high as consumers expect.
3G will not only be a breakthrough in personal communication, it will introduce major changes to print and other types of media. Not only will it facilitate citizen journalism, it will also require Internet sites to completely restructure their WAP applications. It will pave the way to a big revolution in the mentality of publication and open up unforeseen dimensions of new horizons in the advertising and marketing sectors.
3G, which enables users to add content any time, any where to multi-user sharing and networking sites such as Facebook, heralds a new era of “speed” for news sites and even television networks. The 3G technology will also allow readers to simply use their device as an interface to get more detail on a picture or a story in a newspaper. As you bring your 3G-enabled device closer to, say, a picture, you will be able to watch a video on your mobile device of the story that you zoomed in on.
3G devices, soon to be available throughout Turkey, won't leave you looking for sci-fi or spy movies. An iPod wristwatch which allows video and mobile communications is only one of these. It is no longer a dream to have mysterious phone conversations with an LG wristwatch-shaped mobile phone that gives the speaker the look of a Star Wars character or James Bond.
It is also possible to watch a video you download on your mobile phone with DVD quality through a screen designed like a pair of glasses, reminiscent of the movie “The Matrix.” Both of these mobile phones, the ones shaped like wristwatches and those with a giant screen compressed into a tiny pair of glasses that you can take with you anywhere, will be available for sale starting July 30.
In addition to all these, you will be able to buy cameras the size of a desktop clock that can send a live feed to your cell phone. In other words, the hot topics of recent times such as “bugged rooms” or “wiretapped phones” will soon be replaced with footage from “secret cams,” posted to the Internet. This should come as no surprise.
These are not the only innovations 3G technology will bring to our lives. Your identity card information and even the amount information on your Akbil, a public transportation ticket system in use in İstanbul, will be uploadable to your cell phone. It will be possible to use your “mobile signature” in e-state and public agency procedures. In other words, the wet signature will be replaced by mobile signatures for most procedures. If you have your mobile phone with you, getting lost will also be a thing of the past. You will immediately be able to see where you are thanks to pinpoint positioning, even with a map of the area.
3G, right around the corner, will bring about a new era, the effects of which are hard to predict, and these are the most exciting. Given the fact that many projects are under way to introduce 4G technology in Turkey, I frankly cannot even imagine what the next generation of mobile technology will bring.
