Turkey Lifts SIM Tax

Turkish mobile operator Turkcell has welcomed the decision to lift the tax on SIM cards in the country. The Turkish government has amended law 6322 to remove the Special Communication Tax of 37 lira on each subscription.

As a result, according to Turkcell, its M2M solutions could save the Turkish economy a total 1bn lira (£355m) in 2012. Turkcell sees the move as eliminating a barrier to adoption of devices with built-in SIM cards, pushing the number of devices using Turkcell SIMs to a forecasted total 1.2m.

“It is critical for Turkey to have the appropriate infrastructure and conditions to have a competitive advantage,” Turkcell chief corporate business officer Selen Kocabas. “There are potentially around 150m remote devices in the Turkish market, and this latest legal amendment marks a crucial step. The lightening of the customers’ taxation burden regarding this technology will enlarge the market, which means an increase in employment for those producing and marketing remote devices, as well as those developing applications for them.”