Qualcomm could exit its TD-LTE business in India by the second half of next year, notes Reuters, citing a report in the country’s Business Line newspaper. “It is possible that by the time our network is ready to launch by second-half of next year, the broadband venture may be owned by another player,” the report quoted CEO Paul Jacobs as saying. “We never wanted to be the operator and we are very transparent about it.” Last month, The Economic Times reported India’s top mobile operator Bharti Airtel and smaller rival Aircel were in the race to buy Qualcomm’s broadband business, which it was looking to sell at a minimum of INR50 billion (US$1.1 billion).

In June it was announced that Qualcomm won one slot of 20 MHz TDD BWA spectrum in the 2.3GHz band covering the key telecom circles of Delhi, Mumbai, Haryana and Kerala. The company spent over US$1 billion on the airwaves. Service launch is expected next year. Last July Qualcomm sold a 26 percent stake in the venture to local firms Global Holdings and Tulip Telecom for a reported US$58 million. The deal meant that Qualcomm currently owns 74 percent of the broadband unit.