Bharti Airtel will acquire a 49% interest in Qualcomm Asia Pacific’s (Qualcomm AP) Indian BWA entities for approximately US$165 million. This unit holds BWA licenses in Delhi, Mumbai, Haryana and Kerala. The agreement contemplates that once commercial operations are launched, subject to certain terms and conditions, Bharti would assume complete ownership and financial responsibility for the BWA entities by the end of 2014.
Bharti already has BWA licenses in four circles – Kolkata, Karnataka, Punjab and Maharashtra – and 3G licenses in thirteen circles in India. With this agreement, Bharti has secured a nation-wide broadband leadership through a combination of 4G and 3G, with its own networks in 18 circles. Bharti has already taken the lead in LTE TDD space by launching 4G services in Kolkata and Karnataka Circles.
“One of our key objectives has been to include a strong partner in the Indian venture with the scale, experience and resources to deploy LTE TDD networks. We are pleased to have Bharti’s participation and support in this effort,” said Dr Paul E Jacobs, chairman and CEO of Qualcomm. “GHC and Tulip have been great partners in facilitating this transaction. Qualcomm remains dedicated to the continued progress and success of the BWA venture and to fulfilling our commitment as a key equity stakeholder.” http://www.airtel.com http://www.qualcomm.com
