Turkish Cypriots, Turkey sign ‘additional’ fibreoptic internet deal

The Turkish government and the Turkish Cypriot authorities on Wednesday described what was described as an “additional protocol” deal, which aims to iron out creases in the initial deal signed to bring fibreoptic internet to the north. The initial deal had been ratified by the Turkish Cypriot legislature in February despite vehement opposition from both the political opposition and trade unions, and the north’s ‘transport minister’ Erhan Arikli made reference to February’s vote on Wednesday. “While the fibreoptic protocol was being discussed, we said both in parliament and on various media platforms that the shortcomings in the protocol would be corrected with an additional protocol,” he said. He added that “as a result of long negotiations, the additional protocol, prepared taking into account the sensitivities of the stakeholders, was signed today in Ankara” by both Turkish Cypriot ‘prime minister’ Unal Ustel and Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz. Related Articles • North ‘parliament’ ratifies controversial fibreoptic internet deal • North, Turkey sign new €480m financial protocol • Erhurman sends north’s controversial fibreoptic internet deal to court • North’s controversial fibreoptic internet deal becomes law in Turkey • North opposition furious over €110m fibre internet deal signed without tender • ‘Govt’ accused of treating north like ‘spoils of war’ over fibreoptic internet deal “May this protocol, which will realise our government’s vision of Cyprus as an information island, be auspicious for our people,” he said. Yilmaz, meanwhile, described the fibreoptic internet deal as “a strategic development initiative which will reinforce the TRNC’s digital sovereignty, enhance its economic strength, and strengthen its ties with the world”. The “additional” deal, he said, will “strengthen the implementation framework”. Ustel, too, described the project as “a strategic investment which will form the basic infrastructure of the country’s digital transition”. “The project will directly affect every aspect of life, from public services to education, from health to tourism, from trade to the finance sector. It will pave the way for new-generation technology and strengthen our investment environment,” he said. The details of the “additional” deal have not yet been made public, but the initial deal faced fierce opposition in Cyprus, given that it had initially been estimated that the deal would cost the Turkish Cypriot taxpayer €26m, but this rose to €110m in its final version. Additionally, it gave Turkish telecommunications company Turk Telekom exclusive rights for the provision of home broadband internet in the north until 2051, as well as exempting the company from tax on its profits, with the Turkish Cypriot treasury instead set to receive payments amounting to the equivalent of five per cent of Turk Telekom’s profits in Cyprus. Those exclusive rights come with internet provision in the north already tightly regulated. The use of satellite-based internet providers, such as Elon Musk’s Starlink, is already a crime punishable by up to six months in prison. Controversy also came from the fact that Turk Telekom had stated that it intends to lay its fibreoptic cables in existing tunnels, thus limiting the expansion of internet-based infrastructure in the north. As well as this, the €110m provided for in the contract did not cover the cost of switchboards and cooling systems, among other pieces of secondary infrastructure which are required to facilitate the operation of fibreoptic cables. When the matter was discussed in the legislature in February, opposition party CTP leader Sila Usar Incirli lamented that were “never any consultations” with stakeholders before the initial deal was signed last year, and also criticised the fact that Turk Telekom was given exclusive rights to the Turkish Cypriot market. “You said that a single investor will make this infrastructure. A single investor will do this business, and a single investor will provide telecommunication services. Dear fellow members, what is the name of this? This is called a monopoly,” she said. She later asked, “do we really want a strategic issue like telecommunications to be monopolised in this country?”, before then saying that a separate piece of legislation would be required for the tax exemption promised to Turk Telekom in the deal to be realised. “What are you getting in return for all this privilege?” she asked. Turk Telekom is 60-per-cent owned by Turkey’s sovereign wealth fund and 25-per-cent owned by Turkey’s finance ministry, with the remaining 15 per cent floated on the stock exchange.