It is reported that passive infrastructure sharing in Türkiye to deliver telecom services to end users is mandated, and it is practised both in the mobile and fixed sectors based on commercial agreements.

Turk Telecom (the incumbent) was privatised in 2005. However, at the moment, 25% of the share of Turk Telecom belongs to the Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Treasury and Finance, and 5% belongs to the Türkiye Wealth Fund, which is a sovereign wealth fund owned by the Government of Türkiye. It is reported that Turk Telecom has a de facto monopoly over network access services that are essential for service providers in different segments of the market.

Türkiye does not mandate functional separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market. However, accounting separation is required. SMP operators having accounting separation obligations in relevant markets prepare accounting separation reports annually.

Türkiye has only partially appended the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments.

It is reported that although Turkish government procurement law requires government contracting agencies to consider best-value pricing, the lowest-cost bids are selected in most tenders. In a scenario involving the procurement of highly technical goods or services, this may prevent consideration of bids from firms with the highest capacity and best abilities, including foreign firms, i.e., those that provide a greater number of services, lower life cycle costs, and higher quality products. It is also reported that certain other features of the Turkish procurement system severely limit the ability of foreign companies to participate in government tenders. First, Turkish procurement law mandates the use of model contracts, i.e., standard forms, which many government procuring agencies refuse to modify. These model contracts make it difficult for foreign companies to formulate proposals that are fully responsive to procuring agencies’ requirements. In addition, foreign companies, including those with Turkish subsidiaries, have reported difficulties complying with onerous documentation requirements imposed by contracting agencies.

Türkiye is not a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). However, the country has been an observer of the WTO GPA since 1996.

According to Art. 3 (a) of the Foreign Direct Investment Law, full foreign ownership is allowed. Unless stipulated by international agreements or other special laws, foreign investors are free to make investments and shall be subject to equal treatment as domestic investors.

As of 2019, online media service providers, including on-demand service providers, must obtain a new license for online broadcasting and must be established in Türkiye in accordance with the provisions of the Turkish Commercial Code.

E-money and e-payment service providers must be licensed by the Central Bank of Türkiye in order to operate in Türkiye. Furthermore, e-money institutions and payment service providers are required to establish their Turkish entities and localise their Turkish businesses by June 2015. The conditions and procedures for foreign payment service providers who wish to provide payment services in Türkiye are currently under review.

Türkiye is a signatory of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA) of 1996 but is not a signatory of its 2015 expansion (ITA II).

In July 2021, the Turkish authorities imposed a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of stainless steel welded pipes, tubes and profiles (HS:560311) from Vietnam. These products can be used for server cabinets, racks for network equipment, structures for telecommunications antennas, as well as to manufacture machinery and equipment used in the production of ICT goods. The rate of the duty ranges from 19.64% to 25%, depending on the company.

Circular No. 2019/12 provides that data of public institutions and organisations should not be stored in cloud storage services except for the institutions’ own private systems or local service providers controlled by the institutions.

It is reported that Türkiye frequently issues regulations that exempt urgent projects and procurements from requirements of the Turkish Public Tender Law, allowing entities to conduct tenders or negotiations on an invitational basis. While these exempted tenders technically are open to foreign as well as domestic firms, it is reported that, in practice, few of these have been awarded to foreign firms unless they were offering goods or services that were urgently needed and not available in Türkiye.

According to Art. 63 of the Public Procurement Law, it is possible for contracting authorities to insert provisions to the tender documents indicating that the tender is exclusively open to domestic tenderers.