USTDA Advances Open RAN Technologies in Türkiye

Arlington, VA - Today, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency awarded a grant to TT Mobil İletişim Hizmetleri A.Ş. (TT Mobil) to launch an open radio access network (Open RAN) pilot project. TT Mobil serves as one of Türkiye's three licensed mobile operators and is a direct subsidiary of Türk Telekom, Türkiye's largest telecommunications operator. The goal of this project is to improve the security of TT Mobil's networks and diversify its supplier relationships. TT Mobil selected New Hampshire-based Parallel Wireless, Inc., to carry out the pilot project.

"U.S. companies have been at the center of Open RAN innovation. USTDA is collaborating across the U.S. government to deploy these technologies in emerging economies such as Türkiye," said Enoh T. Ebong, USTDA's Director. "Open RAN offers a more diverse and innovative mobile ecosystem, which will allow for greater supply chain resilience and network security. This will ultimately be of benefit to the consumer."

The USTDA-funded pilot will enable TT Mobil to pilot Open RAN technologies capable of supporting multiple generations of mobile operations, from 2G to 5G. The pilot will include a lab trial for 2G, 3G and 4G Open RAN solutions and a site trial of Open RAN technology at five Türk Telekom field sites. The pilot will provide Türk Telekom with a validated assessment of Open RAN technologies from the United States in advance of its 5G rollout.

"This pilot project will support our Open RAN improvement, testing, and productization efforts," said Yusuf Kıraç, Türk Telekom's Chief Technology Officer. "By collaborating with USTDA and Parallel Wireless, we will continue our goal of producing and developing technology that will play an active role in determining 5G standards."

U.S. Ambassador to Türkiye, Jeffry L. Flake, said: "U.S. Mission Türkiye is pleased to collaborate with USTDA in support of Türk Telekom's open radio access network, or O-RAN, study with U.S. company Parallel Wireless. I am hopeful that this partnership will open new opportunities for increased collaboration between U.S. companies and one of Türkiye's largest telecommunications companies."

Parallel Wireless CEO Steve Papa said: "Parallel Wireless is proud to partner with Türk Telekom and USTDA and demonstrate how our leading-edge, next-generation Open RAN software platform can enable broadband communications and new state-of-the-art digital applications in Türkiye. We are confident that our software platform will help Türk Telekom reduce operational costs and site footprints and look forward to setting the stage for additional deployments of Open RAN throughout their network."

USTDA's assistance advances one of the key pillars of the Biden-Harris Administration's Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, to develop, expand, and deploy secure information and communications technology networks and infrastructure to power economic growth and facilitate open digital societies. This project also aligns with USTDA's ongoing work in the ICT sector in Türkiye through the U.S.-Türkiye Next Generations Cities Initiative.

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The U.S. Trade and Development Agency helps companies create U.S. jobs through the export of U.S. goods and services for priority infrastructure projects in emerging economies. USTDA links U.S. businesses to export opportunities by funding project preparation and partnership building activities that develop sustainable infrastructure and foster economic growth in partner countries.

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