Is Qualcomm Only Hope For Airtel?

There is a lot of anticipation around the forthcoming 700-MHz spectrum auction later this year.

India's largest operator, Bharti Airtel Ltd., besides others, is likely to participate in the auction because it will help the company fight the 4G battle with Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL). The latter is the only player with a pan-India Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) spectrum in the country.

Even if Bharti wins the 700-MHz spectrum, it is likely to go for Qualcomm Inc.'s spectrum in Delhi and Mumbai. The 700-MHz spectrum is very efficient for the rural segment, but it is not believed to be as efficient as 2.3 GHz for the metros or densely populated regions. Bharti will still need 2.3 GHz for the metropolitan cities of Delhi and Mumbai. (See IndiaWatch: Airtel To Buy Qualcomm's Spectrum and IndiaWatch: Qualcomm Gets ISP License.)

So, clarity on the 700-MHz auction is unlikely to a hindrance in the Bharti-Qualcomm deal. (See Bharti Awaiting Clarity On Bandwidth Auction To Decide On Qualcomm Deal - Source.)

In case Bharti targets to capture the high-ARPU customers in the twin cities of Delhi and Mumbai, the Qualcomm-Bharti deal is the only way forward for the time being.

Gagandeep Kaur, Editor, Light Reading India