Turkish telecoms operator Turkcell will be rolling out dual carrier technology at the beginning of 2011 to offer mobile internet speeds of around 43Mbps.

There are only nine other operators worldwide to offer the technology which enables the simultaneous use of two separate frequencies.

Chief network operations officer Illter Terzioglu says: “We are aiming to achieve higher mobile internet data revenues in accordance with the increasing smartphones as well as higher data usage at faster speeds.”

Currently the company’s network offers speeds of 7.2Mbps and through its high speed packet access (HSPA+) speeds can reach 21Mbps.

Turkcell is a third generation (3G) operator with around 34 million mobile subscribers and a 55 per cent share of the market. It has operations in seven other countries including Georgia and Kazakhstan. The company has also put in a bid for Iraq’s fourth mobile licence and Syria’s third mobile licence.

Other dual carrier networks in the region include Etisalat’s Egyptian subsidiary and UAE-based Du.