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August 20, 2010
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Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM), the largest digital mobile chipset developer based-on CDMA technology, has decided to launch broadband services in India in 2011.
Last June, the company won BWA (broadband wireless access) spectrum in the 2.3 GHz band, for four telecom circles of Delhi, Mumbai, Haryana and Kerala in India.
Government of India recently concluded a spectrum auction for both 3G networks and broadband wireless access. Qualcomm paid $1.045 billion to get the wireless frequency. Qualcomm is waiting for ISP license from the Ministry of Telecommunications and FIPB (Foreign Investment Promotion Board) approval to offer high-speed Internet access, as well as Internet telephony and television services in India.
Qualcomm declared that it will team up with one or more local operators. Accordingly, last month, the company sold 26% stake of its Indian broadband venture to Indian telecom operators Global Holdings Corp. and Tulip Telecom Ltd. for a consideration of around $58 million. Management announced that it may seek more partners in future.
Qualcomm plans to sell its full stake after creating a next-generation (4G) LTE (Long-Term Evolution) network to roll out super-fast broadband wireless access services. LTE is the emerging mobile technology that offers extremely fast broadband access speed and high-end multimedia services.
The fast growing broadband market is attracting billions of dollars for rolling out LTE networks in India in the coming years. As of now, after China, India is the second largest mobile phone market with respect to subscriber count. With over 635 million wireless subscribers, the broadband penetration rate is a mere 1%. This makes India the most attractive investment destination to the telecom operators and gear makers.
Some of the giant wireless network infrastructure makers willing to pitch their wares through Qualcomm are Alcatel-Lucent (ALU), LM Ericsson AB (ERIC), Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., and Nokia Siemens Networks; a joint venture between Nokia Corp. (NOK) and Siemens AG (SI).
Read the full analyst report on "QCOM"
Read the full analyst report on "ALU"
Read the full analyst report on "ERIC"
Read the full analyst report on "NOK"
Read the full analyst report on "SI"
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