Production of Turksat 7A is expected to begin later this year

Ahmet Hamdi Atalay, General Manager of TÜRKSAT AŞ, evaluated the smart road works and the progress made on the Türksat 7A satellite.

Stating that they have established and started testing 5G technology in smart transportation corridors in Turkey, Atalay said that they have turned the 40-kilometer corridor between Istanbul Hasdal Junction and Istanbul Airport into a smart road.

Atalay stated that they used ULAK Communications' national technology studies for 5G and made the following statements:

“Our Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure has a vision to popularize intelligent transportation, especially on highways. In this context, we are also users of 5G. At the same time, under the Universal Service Fund, we have a network consisting of 2G and 4.5G to bring mobile communication services to villages and hamlets that are not served by other operators. We plan to further develop its future versions to 5G.”

Stating that there is a rapid rollout of 5G base stations that will be operational on April 1, Atalay explained that this requires satellite connections and that they recently sold satellite terminals to Turkcell.

“We need new satellites”

Atalay said that the TÜRKSAT satellites are satellites that rotate synchronously with the Earth and are called “geosynchronous”.

Stating that the promised lifespan of these satellites is 15 years on paper, Atalay stated that Türksat 3A has expired this period, so the 3A satellite should be renewed as a priority.

Stating that satellite production took three to four years, Atalay began preparatory work last year for 7A, which will replace 3A, and continued his words as follows:

“The design studies of the satellite in question are marked by the work of TUBITAK Space and TÜRKSAT. Our goal is to start production of the satellite this year. We are also receiving offers from foreign manufacturers and are in negotiations, but we prefer production by domestic manufacturers. We want to cooperate with domestic manufacturers in 7A, as in Türksat 6A, the work of Turkish engineers. We have 6 existing satellites. Our capacity in space is over 70 percent. This is a very high value.” That’s why we have a duty to increase existing capacities.”

Stating that this commitment also contributes to the in-flight internet services provided by Turkish Airlines and AJet, Atalay said that the connections in all UAVs and UAVs sold by domestic manufacturers will be established through TÜRKSAT satellites.

Atalay explained that this situation brings with it the need for additional capacity, adding:

“We need new satellites to increase and maintain the current capacity. This will not end with Türksat 7A, I hope there will be more. Capacity planning is being carried out for Türksat 7A, mainly to meet the needs of our state and other institutions and increase performance and efficiency in a healthier way.” will take care.