European Commission`s continuing investigation of Qualcomm

While each company has made an individual complaint, they share concerns about Qualcomm's practices. The companies believe that these practices are harmful to the mobile telecommunications industry globally and, in particular undermine confidence in standards-setting processes, threaten the supply of WCDMA chipsets, impede innovation, and raise the costs of third-generation (3G) technology and handsets. As a result, carriers and consumers face higher prices and fewer choices.

The complaints refer to Qualcomm's breach of European Union (EU) competition law and failure to meet the commitments it made to international standard-setting organisations that it would license its declared essential patents on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms. Without these commitments, WCDMA technology would not have been commercially implemented as part of the UMTS 3G standard in Europe and elsewhere. The companies alleged that Qualcomm has violated EU competition rules by charging disproportionate and discriminatory royalties for its declared WCDMA essential patents.