We can argue until the cows come home what the IPR situation is, who gets licensing fees and how much. But the fact is - nobody knows the precise numbers at this stage. If bux or somebody else has found information detailing the agreed W-CDMA licensing fees to companies holding intellectual property - post it here. Just the facts.
1. W-CDMA is not even finalized yet.
2. I think all agree that mobile CDMA (wide or narrow) can not be commercialized without using Qualcomm IPR.
3. Qualcomm will charge for the use of one patent or 100 patents equally. Qualcomm management has never wavered on this.
4. If the markets are free and open markets Qualcomm has the right to charge any amount they like for things they own.
5. If the European standards bodies don't like it, they can choose to not use Qualcomm IPR. This would mean trying to live with TDMA based technologies into the 21st century. The standards bodies have no real power, just influence, and even that is dwindling.
6. And this is the crux. If even one European operator wants to use CDMA2000 to compete with EDGE (snicker) or GPRS (more snickers) and the agencies that control the spectrum refuse, the U.S. will apply pressure to open the markets to U.S. products. If still refused, a full blown trade war will occur. That is in no ones best interest. Countries around the world that are now predominantly GSM will eventually choose the superior CDMA and Europe will lose status, profitability and influence.
No, we don't know what the exact fees will be. But Qualcomm is in a very, very strong position here and considering the many years, dollars and the time that some of the worlds brightest mathematicians, physicists and engineers at Qualcomm dedicated to perfecting CDMA techniques, a period when lesser brains were saying it couldn't be done, it violated the rules of physics, I think Qualcomm's position is very reasonable.
Bux |
