Qualcomm has (finally) announced its Indian partners for the Broadband Wireless Access rollout in India: the company has sold 13% stake each to Global Holding Corporation (which owns the tower company GTL) and enterprise WiMax service provider Tulip Telecom. Both companies will invest Rs. 140 crore ($28.86 million) in the entity, while Qualcomm will itself put in $164.3 million for the 74% stake. The entity will have an enterprise value of $1.1 billion - $888 million in debt, and $222 million in equity. Qualcomm will itself invest $164.3 million for the 74 percent stake. The stake sale leaves Qualcomm with 74% in the entity, conforming to FDI regulations in India, but is subject to approvals from India's Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). Plans: First Demo, Then Bring Telcos On Board Qualcomm will apply to the Indian government for an ISP license, and four companies will be set up in the four circles (Delhi, Mumbai, Haryana and Kerala) where Qualcomm has won one slot each of 20 MHz TDD spectrum. But what's really interesting is that Qualcomm intends to bring in more partners into this venture - the initial trials should be completed by the end of this year, allowing Qualcomm to demonstrate LTE interoperability working with 3G HSPA and EVDO. This first phase, which will be rolled out with Tulip and GTL, will be operator neutral. (Also read: India’s Broadband Wireless Auction Ends; Operator & Circlewise Results ) Kanwalinder Singh, President (India & South Asia) said that in the second…
