TURKEY TELECOM BOARD - VISIT TO FCC MAY 11

UNCLAS ANKARA 000659 SIPDIS USDOC FOR 4212/ITA/MAC/CPD/CRUSNAK FCC FOR A THOMAS AND A WEINSCHENK SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECPS EINT EINV TU SUBJECT: TURKEY TELECOM BOARD - VISIT TO FCC MAY 11 REF: A) ANKARA 501 B) ANKARA 49 C) 06 ANKARA 6055 ¶1. Turkish Telecom Board President Tayfun Acarer has informed the Embassy that he would like to visit the FCC on May 11 to have a meeting with the FCC Chairman to build a strong institutional relationship and learn from U.S. experience. Embassy has long supported high-level interaction between the Turkish Board and the FCC and supports this request. ¶2. The Telecom Board organized the successful International Telecommunications Union Plenipotentiary in Antalya in November 2006 and was able to have a meeting with FCC representatives on the margin. The Turkish regulator is well intentioned, but is cautious and still developing its competence and independence with respect to the government and the privatized, but still dominant, Turk Telekom (reftels). High level contact with our FCC would be helpful in giving advice and experience on licensing and regulating current technologies, as well as empowering the Turkish regulator as it establishes its footing. The biggest challenges facing the Board are unbundling the local loop currently controlled by Turk Telekom and introducing new technologies like WiMax. McEldowney