Qualcomm sells 26% stake to Tulip,GH

Qualcomm now holds 74 per cent in the yet-to-be named unit and has sold the stake to conform with FDI rules under which telecom companies in the country should have a minimum of 26 per cent Indian holding.

The company plans to sell more of its stake in the unit,and will eventually exit the broadband venture.

“The (unit’s) enterprise value is about USD 1.11 billion and the equity portion is USD 222 million,while the remaining USD 888 million is debt,” Qualcomm India and South Asia President Kanwalinder Singh told reporters here.

Tulip and Global Holdings have taken 13 per cent each for a combined value of USD 57.72 million (USD 28.86 million each),he added.

Qualcomm had acquired Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) spectrum (radio waves) in four circles — Delhi,Mumbai,Haryana and Kerala — in the auction held last month.

It plans to launch broadband services next year. Singh said Qualcomm would look at partnering with 3G HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) and EV-DO (evolution,data only) technology providers,for selling further stake in the venture.

“We are in discussions and expect to attract one or more 3G and/or EV-DO operators into the venture,” Singh added.

Qualcomm plans to exit the venture after creating a long-term evolution,or LTE,network to roll out broadband wireless access services. LTE is a technology that offers high-speed broadband and high-end multimedia services.

Tulip CMD H S Bedi said,”For us,this is an opportunity to play a significant role in addressing the demand for high-bandwidth mobile broadband services in India.”

Global Holdings provides network services to mobile operators and runs telecom tower infrastructure.

“Through this venture,we will look forward to sharing our expertise in the network services and telecom tower infrastructure space to the market,” Global Holdings Group founder Manoj Tirodkar said.

Qualcomm had formed its India unit after its USD one-billion purchase of BWA spectrum and is looking at offering high-speed internet services to boost sales of smartphones that are powered by its chips.

The US company will compete,among others,with Bharti Airtel and Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries,which bought majority stake in Infotel Broadband that won a pan-India wireless broadband licence.

Qualcomm sells chips used in cellphones and is a pioneer in CDMA-based wireless technology.

India is the world’s fastest growing mobile telephony market with more than 600 million mobile phone users.

However,in the broadband arena the country remains under-penetrated. India had just about 9.45 million broadband users at the end of June 30,2010.