Turkcell and United Nations Become Technology Partners

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Apr 05, 2013, 05:24 ET

ISTANBUL, April 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

UN Appraises Turkcell's Disaster Management during Van Earthquake

Turkcell (NYSE:TKC, ISE: TCELL), Turkey's leading communications and technology company Turkcell has been named as UNDP's technology partner due to its unique network and innovative applications at the "Innovation and Resilience in Corporate Response to Disaster" event held at the UN Headquarters in New York. Turkcell, due to its network initiatives, differentiation through its innovative technology applications, and its employees' dedicated efforts during the critical hours following the 2011 earthquake in Van, a city in Eastern Turkey, has been presented globally as a model project. Additionally, the transparent "Turkey's Money-Box" SMS campaign initiated by Turkcell with the support of the Ministry of Education (MEB), and in partnership with the Turkish Education Foundation (TEV), has been evaluated as an "exemplary case" during the Panel.

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The "Innovation and Resilience in Corporate Response to Disaster" event, which has been organized with the idea that the impact of natural disasters could be lessened through the opportunities presented by mobile technologies, was attended by Ms. Rebecca Grynspan, UN Under-Secretary General and UNDP Associate Administrator; Ms. Cihan Sultanoglu, Assistant Secretary General UNDP; Mr. Jordan Ryan, Assistant Administrator and Director, Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, UNDP; Prof. Dr. Omer Dincer, former Ministry of Education; Mr. Yildiz Gunay, General Manager of the Turkish Education Foundation, and Mr. Sureyya Ciliv, Turkcell CEO.

Emphasizing the importance of readiness, decisiveness and speed during the crisis, as well as technological flexibility, Ciliv explained how Turkcell used technology and innovation to save lives in the critical 72 hours after the first Van earthquake. Commenting that Turkcell's network, to a large extent was up and running due to preparations made prior to the disaster, and to its technological design, Ciliv went on to say that "Our damaged base stations resumed normal operation within a couple of hours. Having realized that some victims trapped under debris were sending text messages to the 112 emergency lines instead of calling it, our engineers managed to turn these SMSs into emergency calls in collaboration with the Ministry of Transport Maritime Affairs and Communications in a short period time, thereby helping to save lives. Continuing that Van was further injured by a second earthquake, and that the city needed permanent solutions, Ciliv said that "Turkey's Money-Box was launched to this end. We not only donated TRY5 million, but also created the opportunity for other corporates and individuals to lend a helping hand through a transparent campaign, which could be simultaneously followed up online, and where they could observe concrete results. Through Turkey's trust in Turkcell and TEV, a 192 person capacity teachers' campus, and 132 person capacity dormitory for high school students were built, well above our initial target. Additionally, having addressed the unemployment problem in the region, we built a call center in Ercis, where 50% of employees are disabled. We are honored to be presented globally as an exemplary company, and to be named as a technology partner by the UNDP."

Appraising Turkcell's initiatives after the Van earthquake, UNDP Associate Administrator Ms. Rebecca Grynspan commented that "In countries prone to disaster or conflict, rapid information sharing on preventative measures can save lives and property. Mobile technology enables citizens to connect to each other and the authorities, spreading critical information in times of crisis."

"Turkey's Money-Box" education campaign received the "UN Elite Award" at the IPRA Golden Global Awards in November 2012.

ABOUT TURKCELL

Turkcell is the leading communications and technology company in Turkey, with 35.1 million subscribers as of December 31, 2012. Turkcell is a leading regional player, with market leadership in five of the nine countries in which it operates with its approximately 69.2 million subscribers as of December 31, 2012. It has become one of the first among the global operators to have implemented HSPA+. It has achieved up to 43.2 Mbps speed using the Dual Carrier technology, and is continuously working to provide the latest technology to its customers, e.g. 84 Mbps in the near future. Turkcell Superonline, a wholly owned subsidiary of Turkcell, is the one and only telecom operator to offer households fiber broadband connection at speeds of up to 1,000 Mbps in Turkey. As of December 31, 2012, Turkcell population coverage is at 99.17% in 2G and 84.02% in 3G. Turkcell reported a TRY10.5 billion (US$5.9 billion) revenue with total assets of TRY18.7 billion (US$10.5 billion) as of December 31, 2012. It has been listed on the NYSE and the ISE since July 2000, and is the only NYSE-listed company in Turkey. Read more at http://www.turkcell.com.tr

For further information please contact Turkcell
Nihat Narin
Investor and International
Media Relations Director
Tel: +90-212-313-1244
Email: [email protected]

Banu Uzgur
International Media Relations Manager
Tel: +90-212-313-1506
Email: [email protected]
[email protected]