Qualcomm Fined €242 Million by the European Commission

Popular global chip maker Qualcomm has just been penalized with a hefty fine of €242 million by the European Commission. This penalty is part of the EC’s investigation which found Qualcomm guilty of using its power in the industry between 2009 and 2011 to set predatory prices. The commission claims that this eventually drove out competition.

The European Commission stated the example of Icera, which was considered one of Qualcomm’s primary competitor and was eventually driven out of business in 2015. Qualcomm has expectedly opposed the ruling and is believed to file an appeal to the relevant authorities. The fine, albeit quite substantial, may just be a drop in the ocean for a company like Qualcomm. To put things in perspective, this proposed fine of €242 million is only about 1.27% of Qualcomm’s 2018 revenue.

The company is the manufacturer of choice for chipsets used in almost every modern day Android smartphone, particularly flagships. It was recently revealed that the ASUS ROG Phone 2 will be packing the company’s latest Snapdragon 855 Plus chipset. With Qualcomm currently dominating the mobile chipset industry, we don’t see this ruling change the company’s functioning in the long run.

Here’s what Qualcomm had to say after the ruling was publicized- “We cooperated with Commission officials every step of the way throughout the protracted investigation, confident that the Commission would recognize that there were no facts supporting a finding of anti-competitive conduct. On appeal we will expose the meritless nature of this decision.”

Source: European Commission

Via: Android Police


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