Minister Uraloğlu met with the GSM operators that failed during the earthquake.

24.04.2025 16:52

After the 6.2 magnitude earthquake that occurred in Istanbul, the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, held a meeting with GSM operators due to communication issues experienced. He stated, "Our communication capacity in routine is 2.5 times the normal. Yesterday, it ranged from 7 to 10 times. There was a peak time of 15 minutes due to the increase in capacity, during which the desired calls could not be made."

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Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu held a meeting in Istanbul with the officials of GSM operators due to the communication problems experienced after the earthquake measuring 6.2 that occurred yesterday in Istanbul.

"DUE TO CAPACITY INCREASE..."

In his statements after the meeting, Minister Uraloğlu said that the communication problems experienced after the earthquake were due to the capacity increase. Uraloğlu stated, "Our communication capacity in our routine is two and a half times the normal. Yesterday it was between 7 and 10 times. We managed 75% of the calls, while 25% were not met. We completely covered the increase that was double. There were no issues with internet-based calls. There was a 15-minute peak time due to the capacity increase when the desired calls could not be made, but it returned to routine afterwards."

Highlights from Minister Uraloğlu's statements are as follows:

"THERE WAS NO DAMAGE TO STRUCTURES SUCH AS BRIDGES, MARMARAY, AND EURASIA TUNNEL"

"On the aviation side, I can say that flights were temporarily halted and resumed after runway checks. Inspections were carried out on structures such as bridges, Marmaray, and the Eurasia Tunnel. A yellow alert level was activated in Marmaray. There was no damage to the systems. There were no problems with the bridges. Çamlıca Tower was one of the structures that felt the tremors the most. There was no damage there either, but it was closed to visitors as a precaution.

"THERE WAS A TIME WHEN 15 MINUTES OF CALLS COULD NOT BE MADE"

When it comes to communication, we have been monitoring the entire area with our colleagues since yesterday. Today, we met with our BTK president and the CEOs of Turkcell, Vodafone, and Türk Telekom. There are a total of 20,000 base stations in Istanbul operated by the operators, and we did not experience any coverage problems with any of them. Despite all of them being operational, how did we face difficulties? Our communication capacity is 2.5 times more than normal. In yesterday's earthquakes, a call capacity of 7 to 10 times was created. There was a 2-fold increase in web-based or internet calls. In capacities that are 2.5 times, 75% of the calls could be met in the capacity that increased by 7 to 10 times, but 25% could not be met. We completely covered the increase on the web side, and we did not experience any problems there. No one reported having issues with internet-based calls. There was a time when 15 minutes of calls could not be made. We discussed what we need to do to avoid similar problems in the future.

"WE WILL PREVENT SIMILAR PROBLEMS"

The Northern Marmara Highway was fully operational yesterday. There was a speed drop to 50-60 kilometers because there was an exit from Istanbul. If you add a vehicle capacity above its capacity, the speed decreases. A similar situation occurred on the communication side. We definitely recommend using internet-based communication or text messages in communications. From now on, we will work with our three operators to prevent similar problems.