Qualcomm Receives Second Antitrust Fine in Europe
July 18 2019 - 6:15AM
Dow Jones News
By Laurence Norman
BRUSSELS -- European Union competition authorities are imposing
a EUR242 million fine on Qualcomm Inc., the second penalty from the
EU in 18 months, and its latest move targeting top U.S. tech firms
for breaching antitrust rules.
EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said Thursday Qualcomm had
abused its dominant position to drive a competitor out of business,
hindering competition in the market for so-called baseband chips,
which connect smartphones and tablets to cellular networks.
Qualcomm is the world's largest supplier of baseband chips.
The fine comes amid several legal battles for Qualcomm,
including in U.S. courts. The Department of Justice has warned that
tough penalties may harm the U.S. chip maker in its race against
Chinese competitors in the 5G business.
The European case stems from 2015, when a competitor to
Qualcomm, British phone chip maker Icera alleged that between
2009-2011 the U.S. company engaged in "predatory pricing", selling
certain chips at a price below the market to drive Icera out of
business. Icera has since been bought by Nvidia Corp.
Qualcomm disputes the allegation.
However Ms. Vestager said Thursday that Qualcomm had sold its
baseband chipsets "at a price below cost to key customers with the
intention of eliminating a competitor."
"Qualcomm's strategic behavior prevented competition and
innovation in this market, and limited the choice available to
consumers in a sector with a huge demand and potential for
innovative technologies," she added.
In January last year, the EU slapped a fine of $1.2 billion
($1.35 billion) on Qualcomm over payments made to Apple at the
expense of another rival, Intel. The EU's first-level appeals
court, the General Court, upheld the ruling in April and Qualcomm
now is appealing to the EU's top court.
Since then, Qualcomm has faced growing legal troubles in the
U.S. In May, a federal judge ruled that Qualcomm unlawfully stifled
competition in the market for wireless chips.
The decision, which sided with the Federal Trade Commission in
its antitrust suit against Qualcomm, delivered a major blow to a
company that has been held up by the Trump administration as a
keystone in U.S. technological competition with China.
Write to Laurence Norman at laurence.norman@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 18, 2019 06:00 ET (10:00 GMT)
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