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Qualcomm found to have monopoly [TeleGeography CommsUpdate](TeleGeography CommsUpdate Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) China's anti-trust watchdog the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has confirmed that chipmaker Qualcomm's position in the market constitutes a monopoly, Reuters writes, citing a report from state-run paper The Securities Times. The report did not say whether the regulator had found that the manufacturer had abused its market power – a charge which could land Qualcomm with a potential fine of more than USD1 billion. NDRC's investigation centred on the operator's chipset and patent businesses, claiming that it had overcharged for rights to use its standard-essential patents. The Financial Times cites an anonymous industry source as saying that Qualcomm's chips are used in almost all high-end phones using China's Time Division Long Term Evolution (TD-LTE) 4G technology, with the manufacturer claiming royalties of 3%-4% on the price of the handset. (c) 2014 PriMetrica, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info). |