Turkey’s 5G Spectrum Auction as a Blueprint for Emerging Market Digital Transformation

In August 2025, Turkey confirmed that it will conduct its largest-ever 5G spectrum auction, scheduled for October and valued at roughly US$2.13 billion. The auction will release both 700 MHz spectrum, valued for long-range coverage and rural reach, and 3.5 GHz spectrum, valued for dense-urban capacity and enterprise applications. These are illustrative use cases based on each band’s characteristics rather than strict mandates—operators will retain flexibility, as in the United States, where 3.5 GHz also supports consumer services. This dual-band approach illustrates that Turkey is attempting to deliver a national 5G strategy for both consumer connectivity and industrial modernization.

The government has explicitly tied this spectrum release to its broader digital transformation goals, particularly in logistics, energy, and manufacturing sectors, which are central to Turkey’s role as a bridge between Europe and Asia. What makes this auction especially significant is not just its size, but its timing: Turkey is entering 5G spectrum allocation at a moment when other emerging economies, such as Brazil and Pakistan, have also begun unlocking critical bands, while established players in Europe and East Asia are already layering in 5G Standalone (SA). The auction places Turkey at the crux of two worlds: needing to catch up with advanced markets, while also providing a model for late adopters on how to structure spectrum policy to stimulate both coverage and industrial use.

At stake is whether Turkey can convert spectrum policy into a credible pathway for both investment and innovation, balancing the heavy capital requirements of 5G with the imperative to deliver immediate societal and economic value. The decision to bundle both low-band and mid-band spectrum illustrates a recognition that a single-band strategy would fail: 700 MHz can enable rural coverage and basic mobile broadband, but would be insufficient to support the kinds of industrial use cases, factory automation, smart ports, and intelligent transport systems that Turkey has placed at the center of its modernization strategy. Conversely, 3.5 GHz alone would concentrate 5G benefits in urban hubs and delay national inclusivity. The dual-band approach, therefore, embodies a layered connectivity model that, if executed successfully, could become a blueprint for other mid-sized economies—much as Germany and the United Kingdom have already demonstrated by pairing 700 MHz for wide-area coverage with 3.5 GHz for urban capacity, and as the United States has pursued through its combination of low-band holdings with mid-band C-band to balance reach and performance.

The broader impact lies in how this model aligns spectrum allocation with industrial policy, differing from China’s approach, which uses market-oriented spectrum bundling and auctions, rather than mandating specific technologies. By synchronizing spectrum releases with modernization programs backed by the government, Turkey aims to create a feedback loop where coverage enables enterprise adoption, enterprise adoption drives demand for higher-order services, which then justifies further investment by operators. This is a shift away from earlier European auctions, which often had high spectrum fees that constrained operators. At the same time, 5G has also been limited by technology and its evolving unique value propositions, preventing enterprises from seeing meaningful value. If Turkey can make the case that spectrum allocation, infrastructure rollout, and enterprise engagement can gradually interrelate, it could create a replicable model for regions like South Asia and Latin America, where policymakers struggle to balance attempts to maintain state revenue while ensuring the operator’s sustainability.

The strategic lesson from other markets reinforces this trajectory. In Vietnam, for example, the rapid growth of 5G subscribers and the government’s proactive support for SA deployments showed how regulatory alignment and financial incentives can accelerate adoption. Similarly, Brazil’s mix of 3.5 GHz and Millimeter-Wave (mmWave) spectrum demonstrated the need to cater to both national coverage and industrial capacity, though the absence of clear enterprise engagement and the fact that mmWave availability doesn’t guarantee effective deployment, as seen with Verizon, has slowed monetization. Nevertheless, Turkey can learn from both markets to find a middle ground: a well-thought-out auction that balances over-excessive financial burdens on operators while also building national priorities into mandatory deployment obligations that connect the spectrum asset to the country. If successful, it could change the conversation on 5G globally, from one of delayed uptake to one of strategic acceleration in emerging markets.

Turkey is entering a decisive stage in its 5G journey, with spectrum auctions on the horizon that will shape the country’s digital and industrial trajectory. Unlike some regional peers already preparing for 6G discussions, Turkey remains focused on scaling 5G. This is not a weakness but a reflection of timing: rollout has been delayed compared with early adopters, and operators have had to prioritize consumer coverage and infrastructure readiness before addressing advanced enterprise use cases. As a result, the upcoming auctions provide a unique chance to reset priorities and ensure spectrum resources are tied to both economic modernization and enterprise digitization.

The priority for Communications Service Providers (CSPs) is to build the right global partnerships. Turkey’s operators and equipment vendors cannot realistically meet the demands of advanced 5G deployment in isolation. International collaboration, whether it is with technology vendors, chipset creators, or manufacturers, will be imperative in Turkey’s rollout to reduce costs and bring best-in-class solutions to the Turkish market. The foundational intention for the collaboration should revolve around knowledge transfer and joint development, so that Turkey’s telecoms industry can develop capabilities that will be sustainable domestically.

The second priority is to accelerate the innovation cycles. Turkey has taken significant steps to prepare its telecom assets for 5G. Still, the country will not keep pace if it cannot go from pilots and trials to scaled deployments rapidly. Moving forward, Research and Development (R&D) will need to be a joint responsibility: universities and research organizations manage the fundamental studies and participation in standards bodies, while CSPs and vendors focus on applied research that turns connectivity into tangible industrial applications. Without this dual-track approach, Turkey will struggle to keep pace with peers already investing in 6G exploration. For CSPs, shortening the cycle from experimentation to commercial rollout will be critical if spectrum investments are to translate into real enterprise adoption.

Lastly, a robust local ecosystem must be considered a foundation of Turkey's 5G strategy. Numerous businesses—whether in logistics, energy, or manufacturing—are still uncertain about how 5G can support their digital transformation. Consequently, CSPs must develop working partnerships with industrial partners to develop solutions addressing sector needs. A 5G lab, testbeds, and a Centre of Excellence created in Turkey can facilitate environments for validation of applications and demonstrate real value. In time, this will not only create demand for enhanced connectivity, but also build a larger ecosystem of developers, solution providers, and enterprises that can innovate on top of the network.