Qualcomm may start fresh talks with Reliance

MUMBAI: Under pressure from investors and major revenue contributors, chip maker Qualcomm may commence fresh round of talks with CDMA operators, including Reliance Communications in India, in the face of the company's market cap declining steeply.

The San Diego-based technology major, facing ire of third world CDMA operators for higher royalty charges, hinted that the negotiations with CDMA majors in the third world countries are likely to start soon.

"I think that's going to continue on and there's a lot of negotiating back and forth that's currently happening", Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs told analysts after announcement of the company's financial results last week.

Qualcomm, the developer of CDMA technology, has lost to the tune of Rs 1,21,500 crore (USD  27 billion) in market capitalisation during the last ten weeks.

This move comes weeks after his unfruitful visit to India in June-end where he refused any kind of negotiations on the royalties and chipset costs issue.

Paul Jacobs had an eight hour-long discussion with Reliance Communication chief Anil Ambani, whose company is planning to focus on GSM servies. But the negotiations failed over the issue of royalty price cut.

As Qualcomm refused to discuss the royalty issue, Reliance Communications, along with Brazilian CDMA player Vivo, have expressed plans to migrate to GSM technology for future growth.

Adding to the woes of Qualcomm, world's largest handset maker Nokia shelved its CDMA handset manufacturing plans by taking a one time hit of Rs 750 crore.