subject: Qualcomm Wins Auction in India [print this page] Qualcomm Wins Auction in India Qualcomm Wins Auction in India
Qualcomm Incorporated (QCOM) has won the BWA (broadband wireless access) spectrum in the 2.3 GHz band, in 4 telecom circles of Delhi , Mumbai, Haryana and Kerala in India for a total cost of approximately $1.045 billion.
After getting the government's formal approval, Qualcomm will offer high-speed Internet access, as well as Internet telephony and television services in India by teaming up with one or more local operators.
Although Qualcomm is yet to declare the name of a partner for any specific circle, industry sources are abuzz with rumors that Qualcomm may join hands with many Indian wireless operators.
In New Delhi and Mumbai, the prospective service providers are Reliance Communications Ltd., Bharti Airtel Ltd., Vodafone Essar; a joint venture between Vodafone Plc (VOD) and Essar Telecom and state-owned Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. In Haryana, the prospective service providers include Idea Cellular Ltd., Tata Teleservices Ltd. (TCL) and Vodafone Essar. In Kerala, Aircel Ltd., Idea and Tata Teleservices are the prospective service providers.
Qualcomm intends to sell its stake after creating an LTE (Long-Term Evolution) network to roll out broadband wireless access services. LTE is the emerging next-generation mobile technology that offers high-speed broadband as well as 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. Some of the companies willing to pitch their wares through Qualcomm are Alcatel-Lucent (ALU), Ericsson AB (ERIC), Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., Motorola Inc. (MOT), Nokia Siemens Networks; a joint venture between Nokia Corp. (NOK) and Siemens AG (SI) and ZTE Corp.
We believe this 5-year business proposition is attractive, considering that Qualcomm is the biggest developer of digital mobile chipsets based on the CDMA wireless technology. We currently hold our Neutral recommendation for Qualcomm.
