Qualcomm to bid for broadband wireless spectrum

USA-based telecom services and product developer Qualcomm has filed an application with the Indian government to bid in India’s upcoming auction for Broadband wireless access (BWA) spectrum. BWA technology enables high-speed data communication over wireless links. BWA will offer significant advantages over fixed line broadband systems based on cable networks or DSL and will facilitate better coverage and high speed connectivity.
The Department of Telecom (DoT) has marked two slots of BWA spectrum for auctioning. Each is of 10MHz in the 2.3GHz band. The base reserve price for a pan India roll out of BWA has been set at Rs 1,750 crore.
“Qualcomm is interested in the 2.3 GHz Band to facilitate the deployment of TD-LTE in India”, explained Kanwalinder Singh, president, Qualcomm India and South Asia, and senior vice president, Qualcomm, at a press briefing in New Delhi. TD-LTE is a part of the internationally accepted technical specifications for next generation networks like 3G and 4G.
Singh added, “3G would provide great experience to the users but with time it will get congested. With TD-LTE we will help decongest the data side.”
If Qualcomm emerges a winner in the auction, it intends to rope in Indian partners. The company will help in the roll out of TD-LTE infrastructure and the associated ecosystem (devices, applications), and then will exit the venture. Singh refused to comment on exiting the venture and on the operators it will partner with.