EU Closes the Books on Qualcomm Probe

Qualcomm has put another regulatory challenge in the rear-view mirror as the European Commission dropped a 4-year antitrust investigation into the chip maker. The European Union’s regulatory arm said that while it “has not as yet reached formal conclusions” regarding Qualcomm’s pricing policies, the six companies that spurred the investigation had withdrawn their complaints or are planning to do so.

The move follows July’s decision by South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission to fine Qualcomm $208 million for anti-competitive behavior. The European investigation was launched after Broadcom, Ericsson, NEC, Nokia, Panasonic, and Texas Instruments alleged that Qualcomm’s licensing fees were excessive and its tactics anti-competitive. But Nokia last year agreed to pay more than $2.5 billion to use Qualcomm’s technology — settling its dispute with the company in the process — and Broadcom came to terms earlier this year in an $891 million, 4-year deal. So while Qualcomm continues to wrestle with the same economic challenges many of its fellow chip makers face, its regulatory problems are slowly disappearing.

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