Türksat (company)
| Industry | Media |
|---|---|
| Founded | December 21, 1990 |
| Headquarters | Gölbaşı, Ankara Province, Turkey |
| Products |
Communications satellites Pay TV services Programming |
| Website | www.turksat.com |
Türksat Satellite Communications and Cable TV Operations Company (Turkish: Türksat Uydu Haberleşme Kablo TV ve İşletme A.Ş.) is the sole communications satellite operator in Turkey. It was established on 21 December 1990 as a state-owned company named Türksat Milli Haberleşme Uyduları (Türksat National Communications Satellites) in Gölbaşı, Ankara Province;[1] eventually also incorporating the satellite services of Türk Telekomünikasyon A.Ş. and becoming Türksat A.Ş. on 22 July 2004.[1] Türksat A.Ş. also owns 100% of the shares of Eurasiasat S.A.M., jointly established as a spin-off company with Aérospatiale in 1996 to manufacture and launch Turksat 2A (Eurasiasat 1) in 2001.
Satellites
Türksat A.Ş. has launched the Turksat series of satellites, and operated in the past Turksat 1C, Turksat 2A, Turksat 3A and Astra 1D (lease capacity) communications satellites. Currently, Türksat 4A is in operation. The company conducts satellite telecommunication at its Gölbaşı Ground Station in Ankara.[2][3] Türksat 4A was launched on 17.02.2014 in cooperation with Rosoboronexport.[4]
Cable TV and internet service
Turksat founded Teledünya, a digital cable TV and internet service, on November 1, 2008.
Political Censorship
There have been allegations that TV channels critical of the AKP party and President Erdoğan have been removed from Türksat's infrastructure, and that Türksat's executive board is dominated by pro-Erdoğan figures.
In October 2015 a video recording emerged of a 2nd February 2015 conversation between Mustafa Varank, advisor to President Erdoğan and board member of Türksat, and some journalists in which Varank states that he had urged Türksat to drop certain TV channels because "they are airing reports that harm the government's prestige". Later that year the TV channels Irmak TV, Bugün TV, and Kanaltürk, known for their critical stance against the government, were notified by Türksat that their contracts would not be renewed as of November 2015, and were told to remove their platforms from Türksat's infrastructure. [5]
See also
References
- 1 2 Türksat A.Ş.: Timeline of satellite services in Turkey
- ↑ "Konya'da uydu kontrol merkezi açılacak". Cumhuriyet (in Turkish). 2009-09-28. Retrieved 2014-02-15.
- ↑ "Deprem Türksat'ı da vurabilir". Habertürk (in Turkish). 2007-12-23. Retrieved 2014-02-15.
- ↑ "Proton-M orbited the Turkish communications satellite". Russian Defence Export Rosoboronexport. 2014-02-17.
- ↑ Today's Zaman, 25 October 2015, "Video showing censorship plan by Erdoğan’s chief advisor sparks outrage"
External links
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