As part of its plan to roll-out TD-LTE services in India, Qualcomm has reportedly joined forces with network services and infrastructure provider GTL. According to India’s Economic Times, the mobile chip giant has created a joint-venture with GTL in which it will own a 74% stake, which BTW is the largest shareholding allowed under Indian foreign ownership laws.
A source said that GTL will invest around INR400 ($90 million) for a 24% holding, whereas Tulip Telecom (offers data services and IT solutions) will take the remaining 2%.
The deal is understood to be dependent on Qualcomm winning BWA (Broadband Wireless Access) auction due to start this month.
In total, the JV is expected to invest about a billion dollars in spectrum, and a similar amount in the network rollout.
As expected, neither Qualcomm nor GTL wanted to comment on the story. We do, however, know Qualcomm said it plans to engage partners in its TD-LTE network build out.
We’ll keep our eyes on the ever vibrant Indian mobile market and keep you posted whenever something interesting happens. Stay tuned…
[Via: MobileBusinessBriefing]