Qualcomm violated antitrust laws, says US district judge

Qualcomm has been accused of supressing competition from smartphone chip rivals by threatening to cut off supplies and extract licensing fees. US District Judge Lucy Koh has ordered the company to renegotiate licensing agreements at reasonable prices. Qualcomm, a key player in the ITS industry - particularly in the nascent area of 5G technology - refutes the ruling. “We strongly disagree with the judge’s conclusions, her interpretation of the facts and her application of the law,” said Don Rosenberg
May 23, 2019 Read time: 2 mins
213 Qualcomm has been accused of supressing competition from smartphone chip rivals by threatening to cut off supplies and extract licensing fees.


US District Judge Lucy Koh has ordered the company to renegotiate licensing agreements at reasonable prices.

Qualcomm, a key player in the ITS industry - particularly in the nascent area of 5G technology - refutes the ruling. “We strongly disagree with the judge’s conclusions, her interpretation of the facts and her application of the law,” said Don Rosenberg, the telecoms firm’s general counsel.

It plans to ask Koh to delay her decision while also seeking to appeal to the federal appeals court in California.

The ruling serves as a win for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) which filed a %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external complaint false https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2017/01/ftc-charges-qualcomm-monopolizing-key-semiconductor-device-used false false%> in a federal district court in 2017, saying that Qualcomm used anticompetitive tactics to maintain its monopoly in the supply of a semiconductor device used in mobile phones.

The FTC alleged that Qualcomm used its position as a supplier of certain baseband processors to impose anticompetitive supply and licensing terms on mobile phone manufacturers and to weaken its rivals.

FTC said that Qualcomm maintained a ‘no licence, no chip’ policy where it will supply its baseband processors on the condition that mobile phone manufacturers agree to its preferred licence terms. Additionally, the company refused to licence standard-essential patents to competing suppliers of baseband processors and used exclusivity to prevent Apple from working with and improving the effectiveness of Qualcomm competitors.

In 2017, Qualcomm announced a chipset based on the Release 14 cellular Vehicle to Everything specifications.

Maged Zaki, director, technology and product marketing, told ITS International: “This is 4G LTE-based – not, as some assume, 5G but it does provide a strong evolutionary route to 5G. And we’re not attempting to corner the market – since our announcement at least four other companies have produced or signalled their intention to produce chipsets.”

Enforcement

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Eurosmart: nearly one billion contactless smartcards shipped in 2013
    November 18, 2013
    The global desire for solutions which combine convenience and security shows absolutely no sign of stopping, according to Eurosmart, the acknowledged voice of the smart security industry Revealing some dramatic figures at the opening of CARTES 2013 today, Eurosmart estimates that 7.2 billion Smart Secure Devices will be shipped by the end of this year, with that number growing by 7% to more 7.7 billion units in 2014.
    Read More
  • HERMES study looks at impact of ITS innovations in Finland
    May 31, 2016
    Prepared for Finland’s Ministry of Transport and Communications (MINTC), the HERMES study (link : http://www.lvm.fi/lvm-site62-mahti-portlet/download?did=204390) discusses the upgrade of mobility in the country’s transport network, focusing on four intelligent transportation systems (ITS) innovations: Autonomous vehicles; Mobility as a Service (MaaS); Mobility Pricing; and innovations for freight and logistics. Up to date information collected on international expectations, developments and best practice
    Read More
  • Ola brings ride-sharing service to three cities in New Zealand
    November 9, 2018
    Indian ride-sharing firm Ola has expanded its service to three cities in New Zealand and is offering passengers 50% discounts off journeys for the first month. The company says its app comes with safety features which will allow riders in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch to share location coordinates with friends, family and emergency services. Passengers can also be picked up from Auckland and Wellington airports. Ola says it intends to improve the app based on customer feedback. It can be downl
    Read More
  • Australia’s laws are ‘not ready for driverless vehicles’
    May 13, 2016
    Australia’s National Transport Commission (NTC) has released Regulatory Options for Automated Vehicles, a discussion paper that finds a number of legislative barriers to increasing vehicle automation. The paper proposes that there are barriers that need to be addressed as soon as possible to ensure clarity around the status of more automated vehicles on Australia’s roads and to support further trials. In the longer term other legislative barriers will need to be addressed to allow fully driverless vehic
    Read More

Highlighted Content