New Delhi, Sep 22 (IANS): Swedish telecom equipment manufacturer Qualcomm Thursday said the telecom department (DoT) had rejected its application for internet service license for using the broadband spectrum it won last year.

In the BWA (broadband wireless access) auction held last year, Qualcomm had paid $1 billion to acquire licenses in four circles including Mumbai, Delhi, Haryana and Kerala.

"We received a notice from the Indian department of telecommunications on Sep 21, 2011 informing us that the license to the companies formed with our Indian partners, for use of the spectrum Qualcomm won at last year's auction, has been rejected on grounds that we find to be baseless," the company said in a statement.

The company also said that it had fully complied with the application process.

"The application process was fully complied with, and we will continue to work with the Indian authorities to resolve this matter," the statement added.

Earlier, during the month the DoT had confirmed that the department was looking into the matter as Qualcomm's had failed to apply for license within the specified period.

However, in an email response to IANS, Qualcomm had earlier said the company had responded to all DoT queries in time.

"We had responded to all their queries in time as and when they were raised, and kept requesting them through periodic letters and meetings to expedite the licensing process. We applied for internet service provider license on 9 Aug 2010, well within the three months window period, through the locally incorporated entities," the statement had said.