Bharti Airtel is reportedly looking to purchase the 26 per cent stake held by Tulip Telecom and the GTL Group in Qualcomm India?s broadband wireless access (BWA) venture.
Tulip Telecom and GTL Group together hold 13 per cent each in Qualcomm?s broadband venture.
Prior to this, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) gave Qualcomm the go-ahead on the spectrum allocated to it in the 2010 auction. With this, the company can launch 4G services in the country
Qualcomm has bagged spectrum in Delhi, Mumbai, Kerala and Haryana. It plans to start its 4G services in all the four circles within six months.
Meanwhile, Qualcomm has stated that it is not going to invest any more in the venture and is willing to see a slow dilution of its stake in the company in the next phase. The company has already paid Rs 49.12 billion to win BWA spectrum in the circles of Delhi, Mumbai, Kerala and Haryana. It also paid an additional Rs 4.1 billion to DoT as ordered by The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT). The amount was the disputed dues that Qualcomm?s partners owed to the government.
However, with the DoT reducing the validity of its spectrum usage from 20 to 18.5 years, the valuation would come down proportionately for the company.
