Qualcomm, Global Holdings, Tulip in pact for LTE venture

Qualcomm Inc, which successfully bid for Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) spectrum in four telecom circles in India, today announced Global Holding Corporation Pvt Ltd and Tulip Telecom Ltd as initial shareholders for its India LTE venture. 

Subject to receipt of government approvals, Qualcomm will have a 74 per cent stake in the venture, while Global Holding Corporation and Tulip Telecom will hold 13 per cent each, as required by applicable Indian Foreign Direct Investment regulations.
 
“Qualcomm will have the benefit of the proven expertise of its initial shareholders to enable best-in-class mobile broadband for India,” the company said in a press release. 

“Our objective was to secure initial shareholders who are operator-neutral, yet bring strong telecom and broadband experience, and we are extremely pleased we met that objective with Global Holding Corporation and Tulip Telecom,” said Kanwalinder Singh, president of Qualcomm India and South Asia and senior vice president of Qualcomm. 

“With our initial shareholders, and operators we intend to induct into the venture in the future, Qualcomm will facilitate accelerated deployment of LTE in concert with 3G HSPA and EV-DO networks, which protects and enhances the significant investment made by Indian operators in securing 3G and BWA spectrum.”
 
In the recently concluded BWA auction, Qualcomm won one slot of 20 MHz TDD spectrum in the 2.3 GHz band covering the telecom circles of Delhi, Mumbai, Haryana and Kerala.