LIVE FROM GSMA MOBILE 360 SERIES – RUSSIA & CIS, MOSCOW: Operators must capitalise on their trusted positions to drive the regulatory agenda and deliver secure digital services into their markets, Turkcell CEO Kaan Terzioglu (pictured) warned.

Speaking in a keynote on policy (watch a full replay below), Terzioglu outlined key sectors where he backed operators to make an economic and social difference.

“I believe the future of our industry is going to be on four key issues: credential management; payments; traffic management; and creating the digital content and distribution platforms,” he said. “Our ability to define the agenda of regulation on these four areas will define our success.”

The foundation of delivering in these areas is secure identity management, Terzioglu noted. The executive pointed to studies concluding consumers trusted mobile operators with data more than many outside companies, due to being strictly regulated.

“Customers are explicitly saying we trust mobile operators more than we trust the OTTs, the opportunity [to grasp digital] is out there for us and it is our fault is we miss it,” he added.

Turkcell has already launched a number of digital services traditionally associated with social media and internet companies in a bid to move away from being purely a technology provider.

However, Terzioglu noted this new strategy was devised because the industry had already missed a huge opportunity to be first-to-market with these types of service.

“Three-and-a-half years ago it was obvious as a company and as an industry we missed the opportunity that the digital era has proposed to us. Trillions of dollars of wealth has been created in the last ten years and very few of them have been [gained] by our industry.”