The COVID-19 Pandemic Shows How Vital the Broadband Internet Infrastructure Is

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the demand for broadband internet, mostly because of remote working and online education. In Turkey, the number of fixed broadband subscribers has increased by more than half a million, and data usage increased dramatically during the first wave of the pandemic. Such increasing intensity of data usage, with additional subscribers, calls for a rethink of Turkey’s internet infrastructure. By considering the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, this article discusses the Turkish broadband market’s main issues.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, broadband internet, Turkey

JEL Classification: L86, K20, L40