Qualcomm to get license after clearing Rs.410 crore dues

The Indian government Friday agreed to accept chipmaker Qualcomm’s offer to clear the Rs.410 crore ($83.5 million) its partner Tulip Telecom owed as license fee, paving the way for the US-based company to roll out high-speed Internet services in the country.

The Department of Telecom (DoT) told the telecom tribunal it had accepted the Qualcomm offer. Earlier this week, Qualcomm
had informed the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) that it would file an undertaking, along with an affidavit, to clear the license fee arrears of its Indian partner.

TDSAT has asked Qualcomm to deposit the money with DoT within four weeks. And it has asked the DoT to give the licence to Qualcomm within a week.

The agreement brought to an end Qualcomm’s dispute with the government since 2010 when the BWA (broadband wireless access) auction was held.

Qualcomm had paid $1 billion to acquire licenses in four circles– Mumbai, Delhi, Haryana and Kerala. It had formed four separate joint ventures with local partners having 74 percent stake in each of the service areas. Tulip had taken 13 percent.

But the DoT had rejected Qualcomm’s license applications for not submitting the applications within the specified period and for seeking more than one license. After that, the company merged the four entities into one to comply with rules. But the department withheld the license saying that Tulip had to clear dues for separate telecom licenses.