Essential Connectivity Preparation For Your Trip To Turkey This Season

Turkey not only boasts unparalleled beauty and cultural richness but also hosts a burgeoning industry that places the nation firmly in the spotlight of luxury yacht building. According to BOAT International’s Global Order Book, Turkey has surged to become the second-largest yacht-building nation, overtaking the Netherlands and trailing only behind Italy. A CrewFO partner is going to take you through essential connectivity preparation now.

As trips to Turkey become increasingly frequent, ensuring seamless and cost-effective connectivity during your stay has never been more crucial. There are three essential factors to consider ahead of your trip to ensure your connectivity remains uninterrupted across the “Turquoise Coast”.

120 Day Mobile Registration Policy

If your yacht is planning on staying in Turkey for a few months, you should be aware of the 120-day policy affecting non-Turkish mobile phones. This regulation, mandated by the Turkish government, dictates that you may use your phone for up to 120 days via international roaming or with a Turkish SIM card without having to register it. Currently, the registration fee is 31,692 Turkish Lira (about £783) – not cheap!

Plus, there are a whole host of stipulations and requirements to this policy, such as only being able to register 1 SIM-enabled device in Turkey every 2-3 years. Failure to comply with this policy may result in the phones being blocked from accessing all three local networks – Turkcell, Vodafone Turkey, and Turk Telekom.

Expensive Non-EU Rates

Don’t get caught out by expensive roaming charges on your mobile contract. Due to Turkey not being a member state of the EU, charges for using your SIM in Turkey can be expensive. This varies from provider to provider and ranges from daily charges to costs per minute, texts, and MB. Moreover, because Turkey is not in the EU, any calls made from Turkey to any other country are chargeable, which can quickly add up.

No Operational Starlink

To add salt to the wound, Turkey does not currently have regulatory approval for Starlink operations within its borders. So, if you have been used to having access to uninterrupted, high-speed data, you may need to speak to your ETO onboard to make alternative arrangements so have access to affordable, large data bundles so you can continue streaming and browse guilt free.

For more information and solutions to all these connectivity barriers, please get in contact with CrewFO ahead of your trip to Turkey.

Find out how Crew FO can help you with your connectivity here.

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