Turkcell Pushes Button for Domestic Smart Phone: Code Name: Gebze

ISTANBUL, February 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Turkcell (NYSE:TKC, ISE: TCELL), Turkey's leading communications and technology company Turkcell has announced its kick-starting of the first local smartphone, codenamed "Gebze" (the name of the city where Turkcell's R&D center Turkcell Technology currently operates) , which will be the product of Turkish Designers and Engineers, both in terms of design and software. 

     (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120614/537932-b )
     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130226/599689 )

Following the success of its own branded T-Series smart phones, Turkcell has pushed the button for its local smartphone Gebze, which will be develop by Turkcell's 700-employee R&D center Turkcell Technology.  The Gebze is targeted for export, initially to regional countries, thereby contributing to the easing of the current account deficit in the approximate amount of TRY500,000 for each 1 million units sold.  The smart phone, equipped with features such as an interface unique to Turkcell, hardware developed based on the latest technologies and tailored for the needs of Turkish customers', as well as rich application content will be offered at prices affordable for all.  Turkcell's local smartphone is expected to meet the end user in 2013.    

Announcing a milestone for the Turkish telecommunications sector at a press conference at the Mobile World Congress ("MWC") 2013, in Barcelona, Spain, with the participation of Turkey's Minister of Transport, Marina Affairs and Communications Binali Yildirim, Qualcomm Senior VP & President of Europe Enrico Salvatori, and Turkcell CEO Sureyya Ciliv; Turkcell also signed an agreement with Qualcomm, one of the world's leading mobile technology companies.  With this cooperation, Turkcell will be able to participate in joint R&D activities with Qualcomm.

Commenting during the Press Conference Minister of Transport, Marina Affairs and Communications Binali Yildirim said: "R&D has always been of importance for countries.  We completed our studies on regulating R&D activities with regards to the Information and Communications sector in 2012.  During these studies, we aimed to produce a local product and create a brand.  With this purpose in mind, we support software and hardware projects in the sector for free.  Indeed, our studies in R&D and local contribution to production have started to bear fruit.  One of them is Turkcell's.  And today, we have come one step closer to our target.  I congratulate Turkcell for this and thank everybody who put their effort and contribution into the development phase of this project."

Turkcell CEO Sureyya Ciliv commented that "Our T Series smartphones, which we launched in an attempt to provide equal opportunities to information access, have been a great success, with sales of over 750,000 units.  We also launched our first "Turkcell Tablet" a short while ago.  We are both honored and happy to announce this development, which is a milestone for our sector, as well as for Turkcell, at the very heart of mobile communications, namely MWC.  With our Gebze smartphone, we aim to lead and encourage other sector players to manufacture in Turkey, thereby positively contributing to the current account deficit.  Indeed, it is possible to ensure that TRY500 million remains in Turkey's pocket for each 1 million units of local smartphones sold.  We thank our Minister Mr. Binali Yıldırım and global giant Qualcomm for their support and cooperation on this exciting journey."

Qualcomm Senior VP & President of Europe Enrico Salvatori pointed out the fact that this partnership of two industry leaders marked an important development not just for Turkey, but also for other countries in the region. He went on to say that "As part of this cooperation, Turkcell will be able to utilize advanced features on the Qualcomm chipset and develop applications unique to Turkish users.  When considering Turkcell's technology and innovation focus, we clearly see that these qualities are the major factors of its brand success."

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 athttp://www.turkcell.com.tr

ABOUT QUALCOMM

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) is the world leader in 3G, 4G and next-generation wireless technologies. Qualcomm Incorporated includes Qualcomm's licensing business, QTL, and the vast majority of its patent portfolio. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, operates, along with its subsidiaries, substantially all of Qualcomm's engineering, research and development functions, and substantially all of its products and services businesses, including its semiconductor business, QCT. For more than 25 years, Qualcomm ideas and inventions have driven the evolution of digital communications, linking people everywhere more closely to information, entertainment and each other. For more information, visit Qualcomm's website, OnQ blog, Twitter and Facebook pages.

You can now follow the most up-to-date Turkcell developments on twitter by clicking on the link below.

http://twitter.com/TurkcellNews

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

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

SOURCE Turkcell