BTK (Information and Communication Technologies Authority)

BTK was established in 2000 as the Telecommunications Authority under Law No. 4502 and took its current name in 2008 with Electronic Communications Law No. 5809. It is a regulator with administrative and financial autonomy, and its decision-making body is the Information and Communication Technologies Board. Its main duties include safeguarding competition, protecting consumer rights and managing scarce resources such as spectrum and numbering.

Operators wishing to provide electronic communications services (internet service providers, fixed and mobile operators, infrastructure operators) must be authorised by BTK. Authorisation is done through notification or, where scarce resources such as spectrum or numbers are needed, through the grant of a right of use. Authorised operators are subject to obligations covering subscriber contracts and records, quality of service, traffic data retention, offering a safe internet service, periodic data submissions and annual authority fees. Spectrum use and output power limits for wireless equipment are also set by BTK regulations.

BTK has other key responsibilities too. It authorises and supervises electronic certificate service providers under Electronic Signature Law No. 5070. It took over the duties under Law No. 5651 when the Telecommunications Communication Presidency (TİB) was closed in 2016. It also sets sector-specific rules on processing personal data in electronic communications. General personal data protection oversight, however, belongs to a separate body, the Personal Data Protection Authority.

For regional and small ISPs in particular, BTK compliance is a significant operational workload. Complete subscriber records, timely submission of required reports, log retention and up-to-date operator information all need continuous attention. Automating these processes with subscriber management software reduces the risk of errors and administrative sanctions. The legislation published by BTK should always be treated as the authoritative source for current obligations.