Turkcell has joined 3GPP and vowed to help Turkey to become one of the first countries to deploy 5G.
The Turkish operator said that after joining the standards development body, it would take “an active role aiming at remarkable contributions in 5G standardisation activities”.
The operator has already been experimenting with technology deemed as central to 5G networks.
In June, it hit speeds of 70GBps in demonstrations with Huawei, where it used 71.5-73.5GHz spectrum.
During the same month, the operator held a live FDD massive MIMO trial, where it also hit speeds of 480MBps. It described the trial, which was also held with Huawei, as a further step towards 5G.
Turkcell CEO Kaan Terzioğlu said the operator would continue to work with universities across the country as well as the Information and Communication Technologies Authority regulator in holding trials and conducting research.
He added: “We have gained valuable experience in infrastructure and product deployment, service development, making network improvements, and offering the latest technologies, by cooperating with global players.
“In the field of 5G, as a corporation we desire not to be a mere consumer. Instead, we aspire to be a producer, a company involved in the development activities as a leader, and are continuing to work steadily towards that goal.
“In this scope, we are very happy to be a member of 3GPP, as part of the next step in these efforts, and looking forward to participating in this undertaking alongside the other leaders.”