Vendors hammer out LTE IP licensing rights

A half dozen telecom vendors have announced plans to commit to a framework for "predictable" and "more transparent" intellectual property licensing rights that would apply to LTE. Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, NEC, NextWave Wireless, Nokia, Nokia Siemens Networks and Sony Ericsson have specifically agreed to a maximum royalty level for LTE-essential IP rights in handsets that is only a single-digit percentage of the sales price. The same goes for laptops with embedded LTE functionality.

"The adoption of this initiative will reassure operators of the early widespread adoption of LTE technology throughout the consumer electronics industry," Ericsson's SVP, GM and CTO Håkan Eriksson said in a statement.

For more on the LTE licensing agreement:
- read this press release from the companies