TRNC's first 4G network to be switched on tonight

The first 4G mobile network in the TRNC is set to be switched on Thursday, September, 2023 with the TRNC’s ‘government’ set to earn 1.25 billion TL (€43 million) from the associated tendering process.

‘Public works minister’ Erhan Arikli said the TRNC’s 3G network has been in place since 2008, and said “due to some bureaucratic problems, we could not make the transition to 4G”.

He added that the move to 4G was in line with “the fast internet demands of young people, tourists, and businessmen who mostly work in home offices”.

He also said that the TRNC “has caught up with the times in communication technology”.

Of the tendering process, he said two contracts were awarded, the first to KKTCell, the TRNC’s subsidiary of Turkcell, and the second to Telsim, the TRNC’s subsidiary of Vodafone.

“Payments [to the ‘government’] have started within the scope of the tender. At the end of the day, 1.25 billion TL will enter the TRNC state treasury,” he said, adding that KKTCell customers will have access to 4G from Thursday, and Telsim customers from November.

“Within the scope of the tender, the transition to 5G must take place within five years.”

4G mobile internet has been available in south Cyprus since 2015, with 5G first introduced in 2021.