Qualcomm to Appeal to European Commission Decision Regarding Modem Chip Agreement

Press release

Published January 25th, 2018 - 10:11 GMT

The decision by the European Commission (EC) concerns the pricing of modem chips.

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.”

Background Information

Qualcomm

That’s how often people around the world touch something made better by Qualcomm. It could be the smartphone in your pocket, the tablet on your coffee table, that wireless modem in your briefcase… it could even be that navigation system in your car or that action camera strapped to your chest.

Who is Qualcomm, and what do we do? We are engineers, scientists and business strategists. We are from many different countries and speak many different languages. We come from diverse cultures and have unique perspectives. Together, we focus on a single goal—invent mobile technology breakthroughs.