Telecoms investments to keep IT sector alive in 2009
Posted by meb at January 2nd, 2009
As the ongoing global financial turbulence starts to take its toll on the information technology sector in Turkey, many have pinned their hopes on the growth of telecommunications investments in the new year.
The Turkish information technology sector actually made a promising start in 2008; however, negative developments that came one after another, including political uncertainty and the global economic crisis, caused the sector to shift down.
The information technology sector, which was expected to grow by 10.8 percent in 2008 over 2007, only managed to grow by 9 percent. While not necessarily a bad sign, this fact encouraged companies in the sector to set a growth target of 10 percent in 2009, keeping their hopes alive.
The launch of number portability and the 3G tender occurred successfully, and a new tender for fixed line licenses is on the way. These developments alone are enough to create competition in the telecommunications sector. It is not too hard to predict that there will be cutthroat competition leading to a revival in the information technology sector with the introduction of new, diversified communication devices to the markets. It is expected that new investments in the telecommunications sector will help the information technology sector stand on its own two feet in 2009 amid the crisis, offering a sanctuary against the destructive waves of the storm. New communication companies are also expected to emerge in the market.
The representatives of the information technology sector in Turkey, first of all, expect the government to introduce initiatives such as decreasing taxes. Turkish Information Technology Services Association (TÜBİSAD) President Tuğrul Tekbulut told Today’s Zaman that they have created new commissions to work with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are not well integrated with technological facilities. He said they expected to increase business interest in technology services. He also said the 3G tender will help trigger investments in Turkey’s telecommunications sector in 2009.
He noted that employment in the sector will also increase in 2009. “Unlike many companies that dismiss employees, communication companies will increase the size of their workforce in 2009,” he said.
Turkcell, Turkey’s leading mobile carrier, opened two call centers in southeastern and eastern Anatolia — one in Diyarbakır and the other in Erzurum — and they expect to hire more than 1,000 people in Diyarbakır before the end of 2009. Turk Telekom also recently hired 4,000 people, and the company expects to add another 1,000 new workers to their team.
source: Today’s Zaman
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