UPDATE 1-Qualcomm says in talks for India broadband gear

* Firms include Ericsson, Alcatel, Siemens, Huawei - exec

* Also looking for equity partners from telecom operators (Adds detail)

By Devidutta Tripathy

NEW DELHI, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Qualcomm (QCOM.O) is in talks with telecom network gear makers, including Ericsson (ERICb.ST) and Alcatel-Lucent (ALUA.PA), for its India broadband venture, a top official at the U.S. company said on Thursday.

The company, which spent $1 billion to buy spectrum or radio waves in India in an auction this year, is also talking to Nokia Siemens NSN.UL and Huawei Technologies HWT.UL, Kanwalinder Singh, head for India and South Asia, told reporters.

Qualcomm expects to launch wireless broadband services in 2011, after getting approvals from India's foreign investment authority and a Internet Service Providers' licence from the telecommunications ministry.

India is the world's fastest growing and second-largest mobile market, after China, with more than 635 million mobile subscribers, but broadband penetration is extremely low with less than 1 percent of the population having broadband connection.

Wireless broadband technologies are important as they enable high-speed wireless data links with better coverage than fixed-line broadband -- key for Internet penetration in India's rural hinterlands, which have poor last-mile fibre connectivity.

There is no restriction in India on the technology companies can use to provide wireless broadband services and Qualcomm has said earlier that it aimed at faster deployment of long-term evolution technology (LTE) in India, as it bets on the "inter-operability" between 3G and BWA.

Singh also said Qualcomm intends to induct more equity partners for its India broadband venture and is in talks with Indian telecom operators.

In July, it had agreed to sell 26 percent in its India broadband venture to Indian firms Global Holdings and Tulip Telecom (TULP.BO) for about $58 million. [ID:nSGE66S0LV] (Writing by Sanjeev Choudhary; Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan)