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Turkcell Represents the Telecommunications Community in the World Humanitarian Summit, Meets UN Secretary General

TKC | May 24, 2016

Turkcell Represents the Telecommunications Community in the World Humanitarian Summit, Meets UN Secretary General

Turkcell (NYSE:TKC) (BIST:TCELL) represented the telecommunications community in the first-ever UN World Humanitarian Summit held in Istanbul on May 23^rd and 24^th.

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United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon meets Turkcell CEO Kaan Terzioglu in the margins of the first-ever World Humanitarian Summit. (Photo: Business Wire)

During the Summit, Turkcell CEO Kaan Terzioglu was received by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

"Mobile network operators can play a lifesaving role in times of crisis,” said Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General. “Connectivity is a form of aid in itself and we count on partners such as Turkcell to work with us in ensuring affected people have access to information they need to make decisions for themselves and their families."

Turkcell CEO Kaan Terzioglu underlined that Turkey, which hosts close to 3 million Syrians, did not hesitate to fulfill its humanitarian duty and provide refuge to the displaced. “We are proud to have been a part of this effort with our technology, helping refugees survive and stay in touch with their families.” said Terzioglu. “We should now take the long-term view, help communities re-connect and rebuild their lives. We hope to see the broader international community actively unite around humanitarian goals, and believe that the private sector can and should be a greater part of the global search for solutions.”

During the Summit, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also visited the Turkcell booth where Summit participants could experience “My Dream Companion”, a service and an app that Turkcell and the Young Guru Academy (YGA) developed for the visually-disabled mobile phone users. With “My Dream Companion”, subscribers from all operators can enjoy audio books, audio versions of news, opinion pieces, practical and location-based information, and, with the latest addition to the app, audio-description for movies.

Turkcell becomes the first Turkish telco to sign GSMA’s Humanitarian Connectivity Charter

During the Summit, Turkcell CEO Kaan Terzioglu spoke at the special session “People at the Center”. Turkcell also signed GSMA’s Humanitarian Connectivity Charter, becoming the first telecommunications company from Turkey to sign the document.

The ceremony was attended by Lawrence Yanovitch, President of the GSMA Foundation and Gwi-Yeop Son, Director, Corporate Programmes at OCHA, the United Nation’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

“From earthquakes to refugee inflows, ensuring the continuity of communication has been at the core of our work; and our efficiency has been recognized by national and international counterparts” said Terzioglu.“GSMA’s Humanitarian Connectivity Charter, which we are proud to be a signatory of, aims to maximize the potential of mobile communications during the most difficult times. By prioritizing these principles, communication companies can achieve greater results in helping governments and communities cope with humanitarian crises.”

“Mobile networks and the connectivity that they provide can be a lifeline for those affected by natural disasters and other humanitarian emergencies,” said Mats Granryd, Director General, GSMA. “We are delighted that Turkcell has signed the Humanitarian Connectivity Charter, committing to implement a common set of principles that will improve access to communication and information and enable an even more unified and effective response during times of crisis.”

The Charter focuses on ensuring the continuity of communication services, and enhancing the cooperation between operators, governments, aid providers and other stakeholders during humanitarian crises.

Turkcell’s work with Syrian refugees

Turkcell is Turkey’s top communication services provider in the border regions, facilitating the lives of newcomers, settled refugees, host communities, NGOs, and governmental and international aid agencies. It has significantly and permanently expanded its infrastructure in the cities that are most affected by the crisis. It serves more than 1.2 million Syrians.

Turkcell serves its Syrian customers with an Arabic-speaking call center – the only example of its kind in Turkey – and supports the refugee community in Turkey through social responsibility projects.

ABOUT TURKCELL: Turkcell is a converged telecommunication and technology services provider, founded and headquartered in Turkey. It serves its customers with voice, data, TV and value-added consumer and enterprise services on mobile and fixed networks. Turkcell launched LTE services in its home country on April 1st, 2016, employing LTE-Advanced and 3 carrier aggregation technologies in 81 cities. In 2G and 3G, Turkcell’s population coverage is at 99.85% and 95.05%, respectively, as of March 2016. It offers up to 1 Gbps fiber internet speed with its FTTH services. Turkcell Group companies serve 67.6 million subscribers in 9 countries – Turkey, Ukraine, Belarus, Northern Cyprus, Germany, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Moldova – as of March 31, 2016. Turkcell Group reported a TRY3.2 billion revenue with total assets of TRY26.2 billion as of March 31, 2016. It has been listed on the NYSE and the BIST since July 2000, and is the only NYSE-listed company in Turkey. Read more at www.turkcell.com.tr