No relief for Qualcomm from Bush administration
The Bush administration has dealt another blow to chipmaker Qualcomm in its battle to dodge an International Trade Commission's ban on the importation of its advanced cell phone chips into the U.S.
On Monday, the Bush administration ruled it would not intervene and veto the ITC's decision, which was handed down in June. The ITC banned the importation of all cell phones using 3G chipsets from Qualcomm, because Qualcomm was found to have infringed on patents held by rival Broadcom.
The ban still hasn't gone into effect, but it looks like Qualcomm is running out of options. Last month, a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said it didn't have jurisdiction in the case. And Verizon Wireless, the largest carrier impacted if the ban goes into effect, has already struck a deal directly with Broadcom to license its chips.
Stay tuned for more comments and analysis on what this latest development means for Qualcomm and the rest of the cell phone industry.
Marguerite Reardon has been a CNET News reporter since 2004, covering cell phone services, broadband, citywide Wi-Fi, the Net neutrality debate, as well as the ongoing consolidation of the phone companies. E-mail Maggie.
