EU: Qualcomm accused of predating the chips market

The European Commission on Tuesday leveled antitrust charges against Qualcomm, alleging it sold 3G and 4G mobile chips at discounted prices to drive rivals out of the market.

The move hit Qualcomm’s share price, which dropped 4 percent after U.S. markets opened with investors taking stock of yet more regulatory woes for the San Diego-based chip-maker.

EU antitrust regulators said Tuesday Qualcomm’s sales tactics may amount to an abuse of a dominant position. Qualcomm is the world’s largest supplier of baseband chipsets, which connect devices to the mobile Internet.

“I am concerned that Qualcomm’s actions may have pushed out competitors,” said Margrethe Vestager, the European commissioner for competition. The Commission said it suspected Qualcomm stifled innovation.

“Qualcomm’s sales practices have always complied with European competition law,” said Don Rosenberg, Qualcomm general counsel and executive vice president, adding the company would cooperate with the Commission.

The Commission’s charges relate to chips for 3G and 4G mobile phone technology. Those chips are used in more than three billion phones worldwide and sales total an estimated €18 billion annually, according to research firm Strategy Analytics.

Full content: The New York Times

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