The harsh impact of the mobile era on landlines: 4 million subscribers said goodbye in five years
The latest data from the BTK has revealed a sharp transformation in Turkey's communication habits. While the number of landline subscribers dropped by 4 million between 2020 and 2025, the number of mobile subscribers has neared the 100 million threshold. Fiber optic infrastructure, meanwhile, has become the new engine of digitalization with a record growth of 60 percent.
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Landline phones, which were once an indispensable communication tool for homes and businesses, are experiencing a historic decline as mobile technology becomes rapidly widespread. Province-based statistics for the 2020-2025 period shared by the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) prove that traditional telephony has completely given way to mobile and broadband internet.
According to the data, the number of landline subscribers, which was 12 million 448 thousand in 2020, fell to 8 million 390 thousand in just five years. This picture shows that an average of 800 thousand subscribers have canceled their landlines every year.
ISTANBUL LEADS IN LANDLINES, TUNCELI IS AT THE BOTTOM
Turkey's mega-city Istanbul still ranks first in landline usage with 2 million 57 thousand 335 subscribers, but it has experienced a significant loss compared to the 3 million 147 thousand subscribers in 2020. At the end of the list is Tunceli with 7 thousand 246 subscribers. Tunceli is followed by Ardahan with 9 thousand 90 subscribers. These figures indicate that landline phones have almost completely fallen off the agenda in provinces with smaller resident populations.
MOBILE SUBSCRIBER COUNT ON THE THRESHOLD OF 100 MILLION
Contrary to the melting away of landlines, the world of mobile communication is experiencing its golden age. Mobile phone subscriptions across Turkey have increased by 21 percent in the last five years, reaching 99.7 million. In terms of the growth rate of mobile subscribers, Istanbul stood out with 23 percent, Ankara with 29 percent, and Izmir with 21 percent growth. The per capita use of mobile devices has also certified the speed of Turkey's digital transformation.
THE NEW VEINS OF DIGITAL: FIBER OPTIC AND BROADBAND
The biggest leap in the communications sector occurred in broadband internet and fiber infrastructure. Broadband internet subscription ownership across Turkey rose by 18 percent to 97.4 million. 76.4 million of these subscribers connect to the world via mobile broadband.
On the infrastructure side, the length of fiber optic cables, described as "internet highways," increased by 60 percent to reach 681 thousand kilometers. While Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Antalya, and Bursa became the epicenters of fiber investments, Istanbul solidified its leadership in this field by growing its fiber infrastructure by 80 percent. Industry representatives emphasize that the loss in landlines is not actually a loss of communication, but rather the evolution of technology from wired lines to fiber and mobile speeds.