Technology

Qualcomm fined $1.2 billion by EU for getting deals from Apple

One of the world’s largest chipmaker Qualcomm, which has already seen a drop in profit by 90% as the legal battle with Apple continues, has recently been fined $1.2 billion by the European Union for violating antitrust laws in a series of deals with Apple, as reported by Europa. The US-based chipmaker is accused of paying the Cupertino company billions of dollars during the year 2011 to 2016 to exclusively use its 4G chips in the iPhone and iPad.

The EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager showed his serious concerns over the corruption made during the deals between the two giants. She believes that this is illegal under EU antitrust rules and that’s why they have taken this decision. According to Vestager,

“This meant that no rival could effectively challenge Qualcomm in this market, no matter how good their products were.”

Bloomberg reports that Vestafer has a point of view that the penalty booked for Qualcomm will serve as a warning to other tech companies. The EU’s antitrust commission began investigating this case back in 2015 and said the fine represented 4.9 percent of Qualcomm’s revenue in 2017.

The commissioner points out that although Qualcomm is the world’s largest supplier of LTE baseband chipsets, yet there are other chip manufacturers active in the market. The chipset supplier Intel has tried to challenge and compete with Qualcomm for customers. Apple began using Intel’s modems in its iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus devices after its agreement with Qualcomm ended.

Meanwhile, Qualcomm is not new to facing troubles like fines from regulators and lawsuits. Qualcomm has earlier been sued by Apple for overcharging them for the use of basic patents.

Sponsored
Sajeel Syed

I am a writer at TechJuice, overseeing IT, Telecom, Cryptocurrency, and other tech-related features here. When I'm not working, I spend some of my time with good old Xbox 360 and the rest in social activism. Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sajeelshamsi

Share
Published by
Sajeel Syed

Recent Posts

Yahoo Surprises Users with Its Latest Android Launcher

Third-party apps have long been a staple of the Android ecosystem, but their appeal has…

2 mins ago

Phase-II Review of PTCL-Telenor Deal Finalized by CCP

ISLAMABAD: The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has completed its Phase-II review of Pakistan Telecommunication…

7 mins ago

Xiaomi’s SU7 Achieves New Production Record, Driving Q3 Growth

Xiaomi has shattered records by producing 100,000 vehicles in just 230 days. This is nearly…

2 hours ago

Teachers Can Now Access OpenAI’s Free AI Course

OpenAI, in collaboration with nonprofit organization Common Sense Media, announced on Wednesday the launch of…

3 hours ago

WhatsApp-Inspired Updates Under Testing in Google Messages

Google is exploring a revamped image-sharing interface in its Messages app, taking cues from WhatsApp…

3 hours ago

Create AI Video Backgrounds with YouTube Shorts’ Dream Screen

When it comes to online video streaming, YouTube is among the most well-known options. Every…

3 hours ago