Nokia says row with Qualcomm may hurt 3G uptake
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Nokia , the world's biggest mobile phone maker, said on Tuesday the ongoing patent battle with Qualcomm Inc.  may work against the uptake of "third-generation" mobile technology.
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Europe has been slow to adopt 3G mobile-phone services, and now the opportunity for cashing in may have passed. A new Wi-Fi design from a British company threatens to cut away the ground 3G has gained. By Wendy Grossman.
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Nokia Corp., the world's largest mobile phone maker, said Thursday it has filed a countersuit against Qualcomm Inc. in a patent infringement fight.
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The legal battle between Nokia and Qualcomm further heated up on Monday as Nokia sued over patent infringement in the chipmaker's MediaFLO and BREW technologies.
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U.S.-based wireless technology company Qualcomm said on Tuesday it expects &#36;50 handsets for faster third generation (3G) mobile phone networks to be on the market in two years' time.
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Qualcomm  Chief Executive Paul Jacobs said on Thursday that talks with Nokia  on renewing a technology license may be helped by AT&T Inc.'s  decision to use Qualcomm's mobile television technology.
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(InfoWorld) - Nokia Corp.'s patent licensing deal with Trimble Navigation Ltd. this week could give the phone maker an important boost in an ongoing dispute with CDMA developer Qualcomm Inc. The dealÂ gives Nokia a license for 700 Trimble technologies for delivering location-based services, as well as exclusive rights to sublicense them to other companies in the wireless industry. That means any company that wants to license Trimble's patents must now do so through Nokia. Nokia officials stopped short of calling the deal just what it needs to end itsÂ acrimonious renegotiation talks with Qualcomm. But they acknowledged that it will strengthen Nokia's hand in licensing talks with all wireless companies that include GPS (Global Positioning Systems) capabilities in their products. "It will improve our negotiating position," said Ulla James, director of intellectual property rights strategic marketing for Nokia. Trimble has one of the biggest portfolios of patents for location-based technologies, and any company that offers such capabilities will now need to talk to Nokia, she said. Qualcomm integrates GPS capabilities in many of its chipsets, including its gpsOne product. The company has shipped tens of millions of such chipsets in the past few years, said Nitesh Patel, a senior analyst at Strategy Analytics Inc. "Given that Nokia can sublicense to whoever it wants to and on whatever terms it wishes to, it has a strong bargaining position with Qualcomm with respect to GPS," Patel wrote in an e-mail. He cautioned that Qualcomm might already have a long-term contract with Trimble that could supersede the arrangement between Nokia and Trimble. Qualcomm declined requests for comment, and Nokia would not discuss how the deal might affect its negotiations with Qualcomm specifically. Nokia and Qualcomm are engaged in a bitter renegotiation of a patent licensing agreement that ends in April 2007. The companies license a variety of patents from each other relating to mobile phone standards. Qualcomm is well-known for developing the CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) standard and Nokia patents contribute to the WCDMA (Wideband CDMA) and other standards. Qualcomm has launched several lawsuits against Nokia for alleged patent infringement and Nokia, along with five other mobile vendors, has filed an anticompetitive complaint against Qualcomm with the European Commission. Nokia played down the significance of the April deadline. If the two sides don't reach agreement by then, they will both be able to continue selling their respective products in any case, James said. It is "normal practice" for two companies in a renegotiation process to continue selling products even if the contract expires, with an eye to settling payments once a new contract is agreed to, she said. Nevertheless, a stronger patent portfolio of its own could only help Nokia in its negotiations. In some of its lawsuits against Nokia, Qualcomm has asked the court to pay for Nokia's alleged patent infringement on phones that it has already sold. Nokia's agreement with Trimble marks a new way of thinking at the Finnish handset maker, which now views intellectual property more as an investment, said James. That's a turnaround from the 1980s, when the company didn't believe in the long-term value of patents and advised companies not to apply for them, James said. Today, Nokia contributes 25 percent of the patents that make up the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) standard and 28 percent of WCDMA patents, James said. It also holds 130 essential patents for CDMA. Despite announcing an exit from the CDMA market, Nokia intends to hold onto those patents as a revenue generator, she said. Nokia also believes that it has around 25 percent of essential patents for WiMax, the emerging broadband wireless standard. Qualcomm recently beganÂ asking WiMax vendors to license patents relevant to WiMax that it acquired when it bought Flarion Technologies Inc. last year. Â  James Niccolai in Paris contributed to this report. Â
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A U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) judge made an initial ruling in Nokia&#39;s favor in an ongoing and long-running dispute with Qualcomm.The case was brought by Qualcomm and charged Nokia with infringing on patents&#160;in its GSM/GPRS/EDGE (Global System for Mobile Communications/General Packet Radio Service/Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution) handsets that do not include WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access). The patents cover certain power control technologies.The judge also ruled that one of Qualcomm&#39;s patents in question is invalid, Nokia said.Qualcomm, which is best known for its development of CDMA technology, was seeking a ban on the importation of Nokia handsets using the technology into the U.S. The original complaint alleged that Nokia infringed on six patents, Nokia said. Since then, Qualcomm withdrew three patents from the complaint, Nokia said.Nokia and Qualcomm are embroiled in a bitter battle that likely has at its heart a cross-licensing agreement that expired earlier this year. Nokia clearly believes so. &quot;It appears to us the lawsuits are tactics related to our ongoing cross-licensing negotiations,&quot; said Rick Simonson, Nokia&#39;s chief financial officer, during a conference call with media on Wednesday.Qualcomm has filed 11 patent infringement suits against Nokia around the world over the past two years, he said.&quot;Qualcomm is attempting to resolve the negotiations in its favor without having to address the true value of its patent portfolio,&quot; Simonson said. Nokia argues that while Qualcomm was the leading contributor to CDMA, the chipmaker&#39;s contribution to WCDMA, a third-generation mobile standard, is much smaller. That, combined with an increase in value of Nokia&#39;s intellectual property, means the phone maker should have to pay Qualcomm less than previously paid as part of their cross-licensing deal, Nokia argues.Simonson would not comment on the progress of the renegotiations beyond to say that discussions continue.In its statement, Qualcomm did not comment further than to say that it plans to petition the ITC to review the ruling. The ITC is scheduled to make a final ruling on April 14. Qualcomm did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.This story was updated on December 12, 2007
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Nokia, the world's top cell phone  maker, has filed a patent counter-suit against Qualcomm Inc in  a Texas court, seeking damages and an injunction against the  U.S. chip maker.
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(InfoWorld) - The U.K. is considering letting mobile phone operators run 3G (third-generation) services on frequencies reserved for 2G services, a change that could mean better 3G coverage and lower costs for the public, the government's telecommunications regulator said Thursday. The move by the Office of Communications (Ofcom) follows the expected relaxation of a longstanding European Union (E.U.) restriction on how certain frequencies could be used. A consultation period started on Thursday and runs through Nov. 29. Other European countries are undertaking similar moves to liberalize their 2G spectrums, according to a spokesman for the GSM Association (GSMA), a trade group for mobile phone operators. A 1987 E.U. directive restricted use of the 900MHz and 1800MHz spectrums second-generation services based on the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) standard, which at the time was intended to foster growth of mobile communications across Europe by ensuring a large market for common hardware. The European Commission has proposed allowing 3G in those spectrum ranges: It says the original directive is now stalling growth of 3G services. The proposal should become policy by the end of the year once it is approved by the European Parliament and the E.U. Council of Ministers, according to the Commission. Operators across Europe have been running 3G services in the 2100MHz frequency band for several years. But opening up the 900MHz spectrum is key, as the lower frequencies allow better penetration of buildings, Ofcom said. The signals also carry further, so in rural areas fewer mobile phone masts are necessary: Ofcom estimates that high-quality mobile broadband Internet services could be provided with 10,000 fewer sites per operator. In turn, consumers should see lower costs for 3G services, the Commission has said. Finland and France are already trialing 3G services in the 900MHz band, the GSMA spokesman said. Market analyst Ovum estimates 300 million people will have 3G connections in Western Europe by 2012 if 3G is deployed at 900MHz and 2100MHz. That's compared to only 235 million connections if 3G is restricted to only 2100MHz. About 50 million have access to 3G today. Operators will likely want to continue using the 2100MHz band, as it has a higher traffic capacity than the 900MHz band, and so is better for urban areas where there are more users. In the U.K., Vodafone Group and O2 (UK)Â use the 900 MHz spectrum but only for 2G services. Ofcom is suggesting letting the other operators, Three, run by Hutchison 3G UK; T-Mobile International; and Orange, to have access to that band. The spectrum would be auctioned, with Ofcom awarding licenses as soon as 2009 and services starting by 2010, the regulator said. Ofcom is also looking at removing some technology-specific restrictions from the 1800MHz and 2100MHz bands, which could happen next year.
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Vodafone Group Plc  said on  Thursday it was concerned that the current model of iPhone  mobile phones -- Apple Inc's  latest "killer" gadget --  did not operate on fast 3G networks.
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Qualcomm scored a minor victory in its continuing spat with Nokia when a judge last week recommended ending&#160;the investigation Nokia brought&#160;against it in August for infringing patents.In August, Nokia asked the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) to&#160;ban the import of Qualcomm chip sets&#160;used in cell phones, including 3G (third-generation handsets), for allegedly infringing on five patents held by Nokia.ITC Administrative Law Judge Paul Luckern granted Qualcomm a motion to terminate the investigation, as the companies are already in arbitration to settle a dispute behind a technology license the two companies signed earlier. If the decision stands after a 30-day review, Qualcomm won&#39;t be prevented from importing its chip sets into the U.S.Nokia originally requested ITC to initiate an investigation against Qualcomm for infringing patents and issue an exclusion order to bar the import of infringing Qualcomm chip sets into the U.S.For two years now, the spat between the two companies over patent licensing has led to several lawsuits.Last year,&#160;Qualcomm filed a complaint with the ITC against Nokia over GSM&#160;(Global System for Mobile Communication) patents.The ITC is already investigating Nokia after&#160;InterDigital complained that Nokia infringed&#160;two of its 3G wireless technology patents. The commission also&#160;banned some Qualcomm imports&#160;in June, after&#160;complaints from Broadcom for patent infringement.
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Nokia Corp., the world's largest mobile phone maker, said Monday it filed a patent infringement countersuit against Qualcomm in an ongoing multinational legal battle over wireless technology.
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Vodafone Group Plc  said on  Thursday it was concerned that the current model of iPhone  mobile phones -- Apple Inc&#39;s  latest &quot;killer&quot; gadget --  did not operate on fast 3G networks.
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(InfoWorld) - A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that Broadcom could press forward with an antitrust case against rival chip maker Qualcomm, but on only two of the eight original charges, the companies said. Broadcom says Qualcomm has created a monopoly in the market for wireless technology standards such as CDMA (code division multiple access). The decision by a group of three judges in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reverses a verdict by a lower court to dismiss the entire case. In August 2006, a district court in New Jersey had approved Qualcomm's request to dismiss all eight charges. Last month, Qualcomm lost another round in the long-running battle, when the Bush administrationÂ decided not to block a banÂ imposed by the U.S. International Trade Commission on the domestic sale of mobile devices using certain Qualcomm chips. Broadcom says Qualcomm has infringed its patents on the communications chips used in cell phones. And in May, a federal court jury awarded Broadcom $19.6 million in damages after finding thatÂ Qualcomm had willfully infringed three of its patents. That chain of legal losses helped push Qualcomm's general counsel, Lou Lupin, to resign in August. When the case returns to the New Jersey court, Broadcom will argue that Qualcomm has failed to fairly license the technology for cellular wireless standards, and ask the judge to eliminate Qualcomm's patent royalties and pay triple damages and attorney's fees, according to a statement by Broadcom General Counsel David Dull. However, Qualcomm said that the appellate court judges had merely upheld the two remaining charges on a legal technicality, and vowed to vigorously dispute them in court. Neither Broadcom nor Qualcomm returned calls for comment. Â
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Just when it appeared Qualcomm finally had a fight on its hands after winning one round last month against Nokia, a judge has invalidated a good chunk of Qualcomm's original injunction request against the handset maker.
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U.S. wireless technology firm and  chip supplier Qualcomm Inc.  is talking to potential  Chinese partners to prepare for the launch of third-generation  services, but its chief executive questioned on Tuesday the  market prospects for a homegrown standard Beijing is pushing.