Wimax Forum cries foul as Qualcomm pushes TD-LTE

Wimax Forum, the industry body overseeing certification of Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access or Wimax equipment, is crying “sabotage” at US firm Qualcomm’s alleged move to sell the spectrum it bagged in recent broadband auctions on the condition that the buyers use its technology pan-India.

“I can tell you that I have excellent visibility into the negotiations that the operators are engaged in. The process has the potential to delay the introduction of wireless broadband in India by two years,” Declan Byrne, director marketing for Wimax Forum, said, referring to the ongoing negotiations between mobile operators and Qualcomm over the sale of the latter’s broadband licences in four states.

Qualcomm, which had won 4 out of the 44 licences auctioned by the government in May, had initially said it will hold its spectrum for two years, demonstrate the viability of Long Term Evolution - Time Division Duplex (TD-LTE), its alternative to Wimax technology, and then invite operators to join as strategic partners.

However, according to documents leaked last week, the US firm has altered its previous plans and decided to sell its four wireless broadband licences — Delhi, Mumbai, Haryana and Kerala — to operators immediately.

Qualcomm confirmed that discussions with operators were on, but refused to comment further.  While it was always expected to demand a commitment from operators to TD-LTE in its four circles, Byrne said Qualcomm is now demanding that operators should deploy its technology — and not Wimax — in all the circles they have spectrum in.

Byrne said the Wimax Forum, comprising equipment vendors such as Samsung, Intel and Motorola, is in constant touch with the operators as part of efforts to ensure they deploy the Wimax technology and not wait for TD-LTE to be ready in two years.

Operators are desperate to get their hands over the broadband spectrum held by Qualcomm, especially in Delhi and Mumbai, particularly as Qualcomm is learnt to be selling the spectrum without taking any profit. However, buying the spectrum would require the operators to wait for TD-LTE technology.

Byrne said if an operator buys even one licence from Qualcomm, the ‘technology neutrality’ of all the other licences that it has bought directly from the government gets violated.

“They are trying to hijack the entire broadband wireless auction. The auctions were not intended to be used by a single company as a tool to nurture its technology which is at least 24 months away,” Byrne said. “If allowed to go on, this will set back the introduction of wireless broadband services in the country by at least two years,” he added.

The government, meanwhile, has said that it won’t act against Qualcomm unless the company can be proved to have violated the licence conditions.