Bharti Airtel has acquired a 49 per
cent interest in Qualcomm Asia Pacific’s (Qualcomm AP)’s India BWA entities to
spur partnership for the roll-out of state-of-the-art fourth generation (4G)
networks on Long Term Evolution-Time Division Duplex (LTE-TDD) technology in
Delhi, Mumbai, Haryana and Kerala, for $165m, about N257,400,000.00 billion.
Bharti equally said the deal would
boost its establishment of broadband footprint across India.
Chairman and Managing Director, Bharti
Airtel, Mr. Sunil Bharti Mittal, said, the world leader in 3G and
next-generation mobile technologies, Qualcomm, has signed an agreement for
Bharti to acquire an interest in Qualcomm Asia Pacific’s (Qualcomm AP) Indian
BWA entities.
ITRealms
Online gathered that
under the agreement, Bharti has made an initial investment of approximately USD
165 million to acquire 49 per cent interest in Qualcomm AP’s India entities
that hold BWA licenses in Delhi, Mumbai, Haryana and Kerala.
This entails that by way of
acquisition of 26 per cent equity interest equally held by Global Holding Corporation
Private Limited and Tulip Telecom Limited, and the balance by way of
subscription of fresh equity in those entities.
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.
Further outline of the agreement shows
that Bharti already has BWA licenses in four circles, namely 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,” he said.
Mr. Bharti-Mittal, says the company is
delighted to partner with Qualcomm, who shares same commitment to the government’s
agenda of broadband for all.
“This partnership will combine the
strength of Bharti’s national telecom footprint and Qualcomm’s technological
leadership in the LTE TDD space. With a broadband ready network across India,
Bharti is well positioned to lead the next phase of Indian’s telecom
revolution,” he said.
Chairman and chief executive officer
of Qualcomm, Dr Paul E Jacobs, noted that one of the key objectives for
Qualcomm 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,” he said, adding that GHC and Tulip
have been great partners in facilitating this transaction, hence, Qualcomm
remains dedicated to the continued progress and success of the BWA venture and
to fulfilling its commitment as a key equity stakeholder.
ITRealms Online investigation shows that Qualcomm expects to provide
technical assistance to Bharti in connection with network architecture and
optimization, infrastructure and device testing, as well as continuing to
develop and support the underlying technology and the LTE TDD ecosystem.
Remmy Nweke
ITREALMS Online ... delivering news for ICT4D
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