Turkcell and Kontor Elimination

For those of you who have been struggling to understand the exact time usage of your kontors, Turkcell recently made it easier by eliminating kontors all together.  If you are a Turkcell user, your time will now be directly linked to the amount of money you have left on your account. 

Using Your Cell Phone Minutes in Ankara

Be careful!  If you only buy 100 kontors (cell phone points) or less when you refill your phone, then the minutes are used up twice as fast.  It is an incentive to get customers to buy more points at one time!  If you buy even just 250 kontors instead, your points will last you much longer. 

YouTube in Turkey

YouTube is banned by Turkcell, however you can get to the website by going to:

www.ktunnel.com

There, you can seach for youtube and use the website through this portal.

Website Restrictions in Turkey

After coming to Turkey you will quickly realize that YouTube is inaccessible across the country. Some people have ways to get around the internet restrictions imposed by the government; through proxy servers etc. I do not recommend doing this, as the government keeps a close eye.

However, the YouTube ban is only the beginning of this law. Some 30.000 websites have been banned in Turkey and the internet providers of course comply. Most of the sites that are banned have spoken ill or incorrectly about Ataturk.

Getting Internet in Your House

You need to do the following things in order to get internet in your house:

1. Go to a Turktelecom office near you with your passport and resident visa. Note: You may need to register your address and existance with your local "mayor", depending on what area of Ankara you live in. Also, you may need your landlord's help if the address is registered in their name.

2. Set up an appointment for a service man to come and install the internet. Note: You cannot avoid having a home phone line put in, because it is needed for the internet.

3. Purchase a router/wireless router. In Turkey, the most trusted and common brand to use is "AirTies". It is not the cheapest brand available however.

4. You will get a bill in the mail every month. Internet is not overly cheap in Ankara, but it is not too expensive to afford. Expect approximately 40TL per month for basic unlimited usage.

Cellphones in Turkey

Getting a cell phone in Ankara is easy because there are many many cellphone offices around the city. The ones you will see most often are Turkcell and Voda phone. Turkey has had problems with foreign cell phones and illegal use, and therefore you must have both your passport and your resident visa with you in order to register. Often it takes time to get your resident visa. If you need a phone sooner than that, find a Turkish friend to register for you. It will make no difference to the end result---doing this does not affect payment or customer services.

You will need to choose a phone and buy a SIM card to get started. Cellphones here are all prepaid and the minutes are called "Kontors". You can buy kontor cards for your phones at convenience stores, but they are more expensive. It is better to refill your minutes at an actual cell phone outlet. The cheapest cell phone on the market right now is a Nokia basic phone for about 70TL. If you are a student, go to Turkcell and get a student plan (TurkCampus Plan) so that your minutes won't disappear as quickly.