Turkcell Superonline: Difference between revisions
CryptCyprus (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
CryptCyprus (talk | contribs) mNo edit summary Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit Visual edit |
||
| (4 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown) | |||
| Line 8: | Line 8: | ||
}} | }} | ||
Turkcell Superonline is a Turkcell subsidiary that provides various telecommunications services, primarily fibre internet, over its own infrastructure.<ref>[https://www.superonline.net/wholesale/overview/company-brief Turkcell Superonline Company Brief]</ref> Superonline is offering fibre broadband in 28 cities.<ref>[https://www.edgeir.com/turkcell-boosts-streaming-experience-in-turkey-with-qwilts-edge-cloud-and-cisco-infrastructure-20240222 Turkcell Boosts Streaming Experience with Qwilt's Edge Cloud]</ref> Superonline has been recognized as the "Fastest Growing ICT Company for the last 3 years" according to ICT500/Turkey listings.<ref>[https://cloudscene.com/service-provider/turkcell-superonline Turkcell Superonline - Cloudscene Profile]</ref> | [https://superonline.net Turkcell Superonline] is a [https://www.turkcell.com.tr/ Turkcell] subsidiary that provides various telecommunications services, primarily fibre internet, over its own infrastructure.<ref>[https://www.superonline.net/wholesale/overview/company-brief Turkcell Superonline Company Brief]</ref> Superonline is offering fibre broadband in 28 cities.<ref>[https://www.edgeir.com/turkcell-boosts-streaming-experience-in-turkey-with-qwilts-edge-cloud-and-cisco-infrastructure-20240222 Turkcell Boosts Streaming Experience with Qwilt's Edge Cloud]</ref> Superonline has been recognized as the "Fastest Growing ICT Company for the last 3 years" according to ICT500/Turkey listings.<ref>[https://cloudscene.com/service-provider/turkcell-superonline Turkcell Superonline - Cloudscene Profile]</ref> | ||
As of Q1 2019, Turkcell has 41.6% of all mobile phone users in Turkey.<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkcell Turkcell - Wikipedia]</ref> In October 2020, TVF Bilgi Teknolojileri Iletisim Hizmetleri Yatirim Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. a subsidiary of Turkey Wealth Fund, the wealth fund of the Republic of Turkey, acquired control of 26.2% of Turkcell.<ref>[https://www.tvf.com.tr/en/contact/disclosures/2020/turkiye-wealth-fund-agrees-to-acquire-control-of-turkcell Türkiye Wealth Fund Agrees to Acquire Control of Turkcell]</ref> | As of Q1 2019, Turkcell has 41.6% of all mobile phone users in Turkey.<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkcell Turkcell - Wikipedia]</ref> In October 2020, TVF Bilgi Teknolojileri Iletisim Hizmetleri Yatirim Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. a subsidiary of Turkey Wealth Fund, the wealth fund of the Republic of Turkey, acquired control of 26.2% of Turkcell.<ref>[https://www.tvf.com.tr/en/contact/disclosures/2020/turkiye-wealth-fund-agrees-to-acquire-control-of-turkcell Türkiye Wealth Fund Agrees to Acquire Control of Turkcell]</ref> | ||
| Line 14: | Line 14: | ||
==Consumer-impact summary== | ==Consumer-impact summary== | ||
User freedom faces substantial restrictions as Turkey implements comprehensive internet censorship policies that affect all ISPs including Superonline, with the government's Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) collecting user data hourly including location data, browsing history, and messaging communications.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/turkey/freedom-net/2023 |title=Turkey: Freedom on the Net 2023 |website=Freedom House |publisher=Freedom House |date=10 October 2023 |access-date=3 June 2025}}</ref> According to Freedom House's comprehensive assessment, Turkey's internet status remains classified as "Not Free" with extensive government control over digital communications and widespread social media blocking affecting service providers like Superonline.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/turkey |title=Turkey Overview |website=Freedom House |publisher=Freedom House |date=31 March 2025 |access-date=3 June 2025}}</ref> | User freedom faces substantial restrictions as Turkey implements comprehensive internet censorship policies that affect all ISPs including Superonline, with the government's [https://www.btk.gov.tr Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK)] collecting user data hourly including location data, browsing history, and messaging communications.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/turkey/freedom-net/2023 |title=Turkey: Freedom on the Net 2023 |website=Freedom House |publisher=Freedom House |date=10 October 2023 |access-date=3 June 2025}}</ref> According to Freedom House's comprehensive assessment, Turkey's internet status remains classified as "Not Free" with extensive government control over digital communications and widespread social media blocking affecting service providers like Superonline.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/turkey |title=Turkey Overview |website=Freedom House |publisher=Freedom House |date=31 March 2025 |access-date=3 June 2025}}</ref> | ||
[[File:BTK.png|thumb|221x221px|Logo of the BTK]] | |||
User privacy concerns are exacerbated by Superonline's extensive data collection practices, processing personally identifiable information, contact data, subscription details, network traffic, location data, payment information, and usage patterns, operating within Turkey's restrictive legal framework that has been documented by Freedom House as increasingly authoritarian.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/turkey/freedom-world/2023 |title=Turkey: Freedom in the World 2023 |website=Freedom House |publisher=Freedom House |date=4 November 2023 |access-date=3 June 2025}}</ref> Regarding market control, Superonline operates as the largest alternative ISP with approximately 15% of the broadband market share in 2021, positioning itself as the leading challenger to dominant player Türk Telekom which holds 65.3% market share.<ref>[https://www.btk.gov.tr/uploads/pages/pazar-verileri/ceyrek-raporu-2021-4-ceyrek-22-03-21-kurum-disi.pdf BTK Market Share Statistics 2021 Q4]</ref> | User privacy concerns are exacerbated by Superonline's extensive data collection practices, processing personally identifiable information, contact data, subscription details, network traffic, location data, payment information, and usage patterns, operating within Turkey's restrictive legal framework that has been documented by Freedom House as increasingly authoritarian.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/turkey/freedom-world/2023 |title=Turkey: Freedom in the World 2023 |website=Freedom House |publisher=Freedom House |date=4 November 2023 |access-date=3 June 2025}}</ref> Regarding market control, Superonline operates as the largest alternative ISP with approximately 15% of the broadband market share in 2021, positioning itself as the leading challenger to dominant player Türk Telekom which holds 65.3% market share.<ref>[https://www.btk.gov.tr/uploads/pages/pazar-verileri/ceyrek-raporu-2021-4-ceyrek-22-03-21-kurum-disi.pdf BTK Market Share Statistics 2021 Q4]</ref> | ||
| Line 25: | Line 25: | ||
In 2011, a hacktivist group called Telecomix claimed that Syria was using Blue Coat Systems products to censor the internet and these allegations were investigated by the US government. Citizen Lab's research has also provided evidence of Blue Coat devices being used for censorship and surveillance in countries like Turkey and Syria.<ref>[https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/10/blue-coat-acknowledges-syrian-government-use-its-products Blue Coat: Concern for Criminal Penalties, Not Human Rights]</ref> | In 2011, a hacktivist group called Telecomix claimed that Syria was using Blue Coat Systems products to censor the internet and these allegations were investigated by the US government. Citizen Lab's research has also provided evidence of Blue Coat devices being used for censorship and surveillance in countries like Turkey and Syria.<ref>[https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/10/blue-coat-acknowledges-syrian-government-use-its-products Blue Coat: Concern for Criminal Penalties, Not Human Rights]</ref> | ||
[[File:Revolution of Bluecoat.png|thumb|519x519px|Picture Showing Symantec's Logo Over the Years]] | |||
Blue Coat is acquired by Symantec. In 2017, Symantec acquired LifeLock, and renamed itself to NortonLifeLock in 2019. On July 20, 2021, Norton LifeLock released Norton Crypto, which would've mined Ethereum in the background in exchange for periodic payments. This drew criticism from users, as this was installed automatically, and many users reported having diffuculty uninstalling the program. In August 2021, NortonLifelock agreed to merge with the company Avast. After completing its merger with Avast in September 2022, the company adopted the name Gen Digital. In 2025 its portfolio includes Norton, Avast, LifeLock, Avira, AVG and CCleaner. | |||
===Fair Usage Terms Incident (2012-2019)=== | ===Fair Usage Terms Incident (2012-2019)=== | ||
| Line 38: | Line 40: | ||
On February 6, 2023, the company was criticized for internet outages at critical moments during the massive earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş, Turkey. Immediately after the earthquake disaster, the collapse of the internet infrastructure, which was critical for search and rescue operations and coordination, left both citizens and government agencies in a difficult situation. In the aftermath, Superonline was severely criticized for its lack of infrastructure resilience and emergency preparedness. | On February 6, 2023, the company was criticized for internet outages at critical moments during the massive earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş, Turkey. Immediately after the earthquake disaster, the collapse of the internet infrastructure, which was critical for search and rescue operations and coordination, left both citizens and government agencies in a difficult situation. In the aftermath, Superonline was severely criticized for its lack of infrastructure resilience and emergency preparedness. | ||
The incident occurred within the context of Turkey's three-month state of emergency enacted in 11 provinces following the February 2023 earthquakes, which | The incident occurred within the context of Turkey's three-month state of emergency enacted in 11 provinces following the February 2023 earthquakes, which allowed the government to limit or suspend basic freedoms including telecommunications access.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/turkey/freedom-net/2023 |title=Turkey: Freedom on the Net 2023 |website=Freedom House |publisher=Freedom House |date=10 October 2023 |access-date=3 June 2025}}</ref> There has also been controversy over the company's compliance with social media bans in Turkey during the earthquake, implemented under emergency powers that allowed authorities to take measures to prevent the circulation of information deemed false.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/turkey/freedom-net/2023 |title=Turkey: Freedom on the Net 2023 |website=Freedom House |publisher=Freedom House |date=10 October 2023 |access-date=3 June 2025}}</ref> The biggest criticism has been the restriction of communication opportunities for people trapped under the remains of the earthquake and putting lives at risk. Internet freedom advocates have criticized Superonline's quick implementation of these bans, especially when access restrictions are imposed on social media platforms which helped find the trapped people.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/turkey/freedom-net/2024 |title=Turkey: Freedom on the Net 2024 |website=Freedom House |publisher=Freedom House |date=2024 |access-date=3 June 2025}}</ref> | ||
==Controversies== | ==Controversies== | ||
===PPPoE/WAN Password Restrictions=== | ===PPPoE/WAN Password Restrictions=== | ||
[[File:HG255S Turkcell.png|thumb|Picture of HG255S modem provided by Turkcell | [[File:HG255S Turkcell.png|thumb|Picture of HG255S modem provided by Turkcell Superonline]] | ||
Turkcell Superonline does not disclose the PPPoE/WAN username and password of its users. This restricts the freedom of users to use their own modems instead of the modems rented to them by Superonline. Although some users try to obtain this password through various methods, it is reported to be very difficult or impossible to obtain, especially for some modem models (e.g. HG255s). It is stated by users that even if the PPPoE username and password are known, the internet service provider (ISP) must register the MAC address of the new modem in its system, otherwise the modem cannot be used. This can be bypassed by cloning rented modems MAC addresses.<ref>[https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/network/wan/isp-configurations OpenWrt Wiki - ISP Configurations]</ref> | Turkcell Superonline does not disclose the PPPoE/WAN username and password of its users. This restricts the freedom of users to use their own modems instead of the modems rented to them by Superonline. Although some users try to obtain this password through various methods, it is reported to be very difficult or impossible to obtain, especially for some modem models (e.g. HG255s). It is stated by users that even if the PPPoE username and password are known, the internet service provider (ISP) must register the MAC address of the new modem in its system, otherwise the modem cannot be used. This can be bypassed by cloning rented modems MAC addresses.<ref>[https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/network/wan/isp-configurations OpenWrt Wiki - ISP Configurations]</ref> | ||
===Disabling Root Accounts and Firmware Restrictions=== | ===Disabling Root Accounts and Firmware Restrictions=== | ||
[[File:RouterUINoOptions.png|thumb|Superonline Removes the Backup and Update Options from the Modem Interface]] | |||
Turkcell Superonline's decision to restrict or completely disable access to the root account on the modems it rents to its users has sparked controversy among users. Superonline does not allow the use of third party modems. The firmware of the modems provided by Superonline is often customized and restricted, preventing users from gaining root access via web interface, telnet or ssh. One of the main reasons for this is that modem firmware updates and management are centralized by Superonline. It is argued that this centralized management may become more difficult if users have root access. While some users have stated that they need root access to configure their modem's settings in more detail, to install alternative firmware (like OpenWRT or Asus Merlin Firmware), or to enable/disable certain features, they have encountered this restriction by Superonline. In particular, some modem models are reported to disable features such as backups and manual updates via files in order to make it more difficult to obtain the root password. Some modem models have also been reported to disable the ability to change the main DNS server.<ref>[https://wf.lavatech.top/ave/router-misadventures Router Misadventures: Dumping Superonline's ISP Fiber Router]</ref> | Turkcell Superonline's decision to restrict or completely disable access to the root account on the modems it rents to its users has sparked controversy among users. Superonline does not allow the use of third party modems. The firmware of the modems provided by Superonline is often customized and restricted, preventing users from gaining root access via web interface, telnet or ssh. One of the main reasons for this is that modem firmware updates and management are centralized by Superonline. It is argued that this centralized management may become more difficult if users have root access. While some users have stated that they need root access to configure their modem's settings in more detail, to install alternative firmware (like OpenWRT or Asus Merlin Firmware), or to enable/disable certain features, they have encountered this restriction by Superonline. In particular, some modem models are reported to disable features such as backups and manual updates via files in order to make it more difficult to obtain the root password. Some modem models have also been reported to disable the ability to change the main DNS server.<ref>[https://wf.lavatech.top/ave/router-misadventures Router Misadventures: Dumping Superonline's ISP Fiber Router]</ref> | ||