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LTE push: Qualcomm eyes spectrum
US-based telecom software and chip-making firm Qualcomm , which created the CDMA (code division multiple access) technology that powers many phone networks, on Wednesday filed to bid for broadband wireless spectrum in India in a bid to showcase its TD-LTE technology.
US-based telecom software and chip-making firm Qualcomm , which created the CDMA (code division multiple access) technology that powers many phone networks, on Wednesday filed to bid for broadband wireless spectrum in India in a bid to showcase its TD-LTE technology.
If it wins the bid, it plans to demonstrate TD-LTE and exit the business. It plans to rope in an operating partner.
LTE, which is an alternative to Intel-championed WiMAX technology, can be combined with third generation (3G) wireless technology, in which Qualcomm is a key player. Qualcomm, which is thus far the sole bidder in the race that ends on March 19, is seeking spectrum in the 2.3 GHz band. Besides CDMA, the company has developed TD-LTE technology that offers high speed data access at a speed of up to 80 Mbps.
Kanwalinder Singh, Qualcomm’s South Asia president, said there will be a common device for 3G and LTE. “This would enable Indian operators to optimize and future-proof their investments by combining 3G and LTE. Absence of such a business fit is one of the major reasons WiMAX is losing momentum to the LTE ecosystem throughout the world,” he added.
