UPDATE 1-India to grant Internet licence to Qualcomm-telecoms secy
NEW DELHI Oct 18 (Reuters) - India has agreed to grant an
Internet service licence to Qualcomm Inc , Telecoms
Secretary R. Chandrashekhar said on Tuesday, clearing the way
for the U.S. chipmaker to launch broadband services in the
country after its application for the licence was rejected
initially.Qualcomm last year paid about $1 billion for wireless
spectrum it won in a state auction in four of India’s 22
telecoms zones. The company needs to get the so-called Internet
Service Provider’s licence to launch broadband services.The ministry had earlier cited Qualcomm missing the deadline
for applying for the Internet service providers’ licence as one
of the reasons for rejecting the application. The ministry had
also said Qualcomm applied for four separate licences, whereas
it should have applied for just one.Qualcomm was not immediately available for comment. The
company has previously said it fully complied with the
application process and will work with the Indian authorities to
resolve the matter.It last year sold a total 26 percent stake in its India
broadband venture to Indian firms Global Holdings and Tulip
Telecom to comply with Indian rules, which allow a
maximum 74 percent foreign holding in local telecoms companies.Qualcomm, which is pushing for the deployment of LTE
(long-term evolution) broadband technology, has said it is
looking for more operator partners in the Indian venture and
plans to eventually exit the business.Other firms who have wireless broadband spectrum in select
zones include top telecoms firm Bharti Airtel , smaller
carrier Aircel and privately held Augere and Tikona.A unit of Reliance Industries , India’s most
valuable firm, has wireless broadband spectrum in all the 22
zones of the country.None of the broadband spectrum winners have launched
services yet.
