If the bids in the ongoing 3G auction have taken most by surprise, the Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) auction that begins two days after the 3G one gets over could throw up some shocks as well. Apart from BWA offering double the spectrum that 3G does, technology firm Qualcomm is one of the bidders — if it wins the bid, Qualcomm wants to be able to offer this for use by all users of its technology.
Just how aggressive Qualcomm could be is indicated by the spate of emails sent by its staffers on stories of how Qualcomm’s Long Term Evolution (LTE can be used for voice calls as well as broadband internet) is stealing a march over rival WiMax. “NSN, Alcatel and now Cisco: Is WiMax losing ground?” says one headline; “Russia’s Yota says, did not vow to use WiMax,” says another; “Clearwire free to use LTE under changed Intel deal,” says yet another.
