Intel announced on November 29 (local time) that it had submitted an Amicus Curiae Brief in support of the FTC to Qualcomm’s Federal Trade Commission FTC Appeal.
Among them, Intel said that it was forced to withdraw from the market and sell the Apple modem business due to barriers created by Qualcomm. Originally, Apple and Qualcomm were between supplying the iPhone modem chip to Qualcomm, but it worsened when Apple refused to claim Qualcomm’s patent royalties, and it was sued around the world. For this reason, Intel has been supplying modems for recent iPhones. However, in April, Apple and Qualcomm canceled all lawsuits between the two companies and signed a contract that included semiconductor supply for six years, and a reconciliation was established. In the aftermath, Intel was forced to sell most of the smartphone-only modem business to Apple.
Steven R. Rogers, who is also senior vice president and head of legal affairs at Intel, said in an Intel blog that he supported the FTC’s lawsuit against Qualcomm, saying it had been kicked out of the market following Qualcomm’s patent licensing practices. He said Intel was forced to sell at artificially distorted prices by Qualcomm, which denied opportunities in the modem market and hampered customer sales.
It also gave an acute explanation of how much effort and money Intel put into building the modem business. Investing billions of dollars, hiring thousands, and acquiring two companies. Eventually, including the iPhone 11, the company announced that it finally entered the industry-leading Apple iPhone and built innovative world-class products.
As such, the invested smartphone-only modem business could not overcome the artificially insurmountable barrier to fair competition created by Qualcomm’s plan, and was forced to withdraw from the market this year. Apple’s acquisition price is reported to be $1 billion, which means that Intel lost several times the amount of the sale. Related information can be found here .