EU fines Qualcomm $1.2 billion for paying Apple to not use rival manufacturers' LTE chips

EU fines Qualcomm €997M for abusing market dominance, says it paid Apple to buy LTE baseband chipsets from Qualcomm exclusively; Qualcomm to appeal  

Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM) today confirmed it has received a decision from the European Commission (EC) relating to an expired agreement between Qualcomm and Apple Inc., which was in effect from 2011 through 2016, for the pricing of modem chips. The EC alleges that certain provisions of this agreement were in violation of European Union competition law and has imposed a fine of approximately 997, 439,000 million Euros (approximately $1.23 billion USD at current exchange rates). Qualcomm strongly disagrees with the decision and will immediately appeal it to the General Court of the European Union. The EC decision does not relate to Qualcomm’s licensing business and has no impact on ongoing operations.

“We are confident this agreement did not violate EU competition rules or adversely affect market competition or European consumers,” said Don Rosenberg, executive vice president and general counsel of Qualcomm. “We have a strong case for judicial review and we will immediately commence that process.”

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