Today is the start of a two-day International Trade Commission hearing in which Qualcomm is expected to argue against a ban on importing mobile phones using its chipsets. Broadcom has asked the ITC to bar imports of EV-DO cell phones, as well as phones using Qualcomm W-CDMA chips. The ban does not include aircards such as those used in laptop computers or in smartphones. This controversial ban was triggered by Broadcom's charge that Qualcomm infringed on a Broadcom patent that is used to manage power consumption in cell phones.
The ban could have some major ramifications to many firms, including Sprint Nextel and Verizon, which use 1xEV-DO technology in their networks. Executives from Sprint Nextel, Verizon Wireless, Motorola, Samsung and LG are all expected to appear at the hearing to argue against the ban.
FierceWireless Editor Brian Dolan is attending the public hearing today, so look for more on this in tomorrow's newsletter. -Sue [1]
For more:
- see this WSJ article [2] (sub. req.)
Links:
[1] mailto: sue@fiercemarkets.com
[2] http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB117443054395443357.html