Access4All: Turkish giant TTNET expands access to internet and education

New York, Istanbul, 24 September 2013 - TTNET becomes the first Turkish firm to join the Business Call to Action (BCtA) with their commitment to broaden internet access and literacy training. Turkey'’s largest internet company announced plans today to expand internet access and educational opportunities to remote areas in Turkey by 2015.

Recognizing that economic barriers to technology can hinder the growth and development of all income groups and broaden the socioeconomic gap, TTNET is working hard to change the landscape.

TTNET'’s pilot program Internet 4All initiative aims to support Turkey'’s development efforts by facilitating access to quality educational support and digital literacy training in more than 20 cities prioritized for economic development by the Turkish Ministry for Development. Its goal is to provide affordable access for new consumers (ensuring that they do not pay a premium for products) and to meet the complex growing telecommunication needs of one of the largest and emerging economies.

The TTNET program will provide 30,000 households with access to an online education platform called Vitamin, which provides educational content targeted at primary and secondary school-going children in remote areas of Turkey. This value added service is provided directly to the household, creating access to a vast online library of dynamic interactive educational content and internet literacy trainings.

The BCtA welcomes Turkey's leading internet company, TTNET, as the first Turkish company to join the initiative, said Sahba Sobhani, Acting Programme Manager of the Business Call to Action. With TTNET'’s expanded access, we believe their program will be a valuable mechanism for reducing the digital divide and expanding quality educational training and connectivity in various communities in Turkey.”

By encouraging more sustainable and expanded internet access, the company hopes to pioneer more affordable services and demonstrate the power of connectivity while simultaneously reducing the digital divide. By transforming the way important educational content is delivered, TTNET also hopes to build capacity in communities. In addition, by 2015, TTNET commits to providing internet literacy training for more than 12,000 people.

“While we deliver our products and services to our customers on daily basis, we also work for the creation of and sustaining a strong economy for our country as a part of our corporate responsibility, said Abdullah Orkun Kaya, CEO of TTNET. “We support our country's objective of being an “information society. “We contribute to this objective by carrying out projects that improve and increase the opportunities in the society to reach the information.” We are delighted and proud to be the first Turkish company accepted to the Business Call to Action with our development-oriented business model - Internet 4All. Internet 4All aims to reach all income groups and make them benefit from the facilities and opportunities offered by the internet, said Abdullah Orkun Kaya, CEO of TTNET.

For further information, please contact:

BCtA: Karen Newman, karen.newman@undp.org, +1.212.906.5194

TTNET: Sinan Cem Sahin, sinancem.sahin@ttnet.com.tr, +90 212 3062458

About the Business Call to Action (BCtA)

Business Call to Action is a global initiative that challenges companies to develop inclusive business models that offer the potential for development impact along with commercial success. The initiative is the result of a partnership between the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, UK Department for International Development, US Agency for International Development, United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Global Compact, and the Clinton Global Initiative to meet the anti-poverty Millennium Development Goals by 2015. Companies report on progress toward commitments on an annual basis. To learn more, please visit www.businesscalltoaction.org or join the conversation on Twitter at @BCtAInitiative.

About TTNET

Founded in 2006 to connect Turkey to the Internet and open up the country to the world, TTNET, today, is a communication and entertainment company that plays a leading role in the industry with its corporate and individual services and offers its customers the communication technologies of today and the future. Offering a combination of all three components of communication technologies Internet, television and voice– TTNET meets with all communication requirements of Turkey with its products in education, entertainment, communication and security as well as other business-specific products. The company's product portfolio includes primarily ADSL, fiber Internet connectivity, Wi-Fi, G.SHDSL, Metro Ethernet, ATM and Frame Relay Internet connectivity. TTNET provides a complete array of mobile telephone services under the TTNET Mobil brand in partnership with Avea and landline telephone connectivity for individual customers under TTNET Alo brand. TTNET is also the first company to introduce the technology of Tivibu Web and Tivibu Cep that make cinema and TV experience mobile and Tivibu Ev, which enables TV access at home with IPTV technology. In addition to the Internet services, TTNET'’s value added services include TTNET MÃzik where all kinds of music can be listened and the digital gaming platform Playstore, where popular online and digital games are sold. TTNET also offers users a host of products and services for a secure Internet through TTNET GÃvenlik, while developing products and services tailored to the requirements of businesses through TTNET ??yerim Paketleri. Combining Internet, TV, fixed voice and mobile voice services in a single bill, TTNET has achieved another breakthrough in Turkey by becoming the first communication and entertainment company to launch quad play. For more information, please visit www.ttnet.com.tr or join the conversation on Twitter at @TTNETdestek.