WiMAX IPR Issues [QUALCOMM]
>> Time to Pay the WiMAX Piper
Tammy Parker
Telecoms.com
30 May 2006
tinyurl.com
Is there an IPR bugaboo waiting to wreck the WiMAX industry?
Frankly, I don't know. But there are whispers, and actually yells, to that effect.
The topic had not gained much public attention until Soma Networks signed up as the first license-holder to use Qualcomm-patented OFDM/OFDMA technologies in non-CDMA equipment for subscribers and infrastructure. The patent license enables Soma to develop, manufacture and sell OFDM/OFDMA subscriber units, modem cards and infrastructure equipment.
Soma licensed Qualcomm's CDMA portfolio back in 2001 and is apparently a big believer in the big Q's intellectual property library. Greg Caltabiano, president and COO of Soma Networks, contends this latest agreement was a must-do because Soma believes Qualcomm is a major player, if not "the" major player, in OFDM/OFDMA IPR.
Qualcomm gained considerable OFDM/OFDMA IPR through its January acquisition of Flarion Technologies, but some forget that Qualcomm already had a hefty OFDM portfolio of its own. For one thing, OFDM is the underlying technology for Qualcomm's FLO (forward link only) air interface, which is the foundation for the MediaFLO mobile TV network the company is building in the U.S. In addition, the company and British Sky Broadcasting Limited (BSkyB) recently signed a nonbinding letter of intent to conduct technical trials of the MediaFLO platform in the UK.
Although Qualcomm is not yet shaking down pre-WiMAX and WiMAX vendors for royalty payments, a company spokesman confirms that Qualcomm believes it has an IPR portfolio "that applies to the various solutions that would use OFDM/OFDMA, including WiMAX."
And now that Qualcomm has a sample agreement under its belt with WiMAX player Soma, the big Q might just decide tomorrow that it's time to make others pay the piper.
For his part, Caltabiano is raising the red flag by contending that the WiMAX industry in general is guilty of dismissing critical IPR holdings, particularly those of Qualcomm. And he predicts that what he sees as a dismissive attitude will come back to haunt WiMAX's many players.
So, could it be that Soma, long a Qualcomm ally and partner, is simply doing the larger company's dirty work by alerting the nascent WiMAX industry to Qualcomm's IPR holdings? Or is this a case of a company simply wanting to do the right thing to protect its customers' investments, as Soma contends it is doing? Again, I don't know the answer.
Because this enquiring mind wanted to learn more, I sought out Jeff Orr, director of marketing for the WiMAX Forum. He told me, "The position of the forum is that we believe there are multiple owners of IPR related to OFDMA, and that no one company has a commanding position. The key is to go in with your eyes open and to do that we felt it was necessary to develop a policy around intellectual property rights so that the market itself can develop at a rapid clip."
That said, he noted that some 350 WiMAX Forum members have signed onto the group's IPR policy, which calls for the usual "reasonable" and "non-discriminatory" licensing terms. Soma, for one, is a member of the forum.
However, Qualcomm is not a member and, as such, is not a signatory to the WiMAX Forum's IPR framework.
(Long-time Qualcomm adversary Nokia is a member of the WiMAX Forum. That's not surprising given that the two tend to run with different crowds whenever they can.)
It's no secret that Qualcomm's extensive IPR holdings related to OFDM/OFDMA are also affecting the outlook for 3GPP's next-generation radio standard known as LTE, or Long Term Evolution. LTE will likely include a hefty dose of OFDM/OFDMA.
Those in the anti-Qualcomm camp, and let's face it, there's a pretty large crowd, would like to stick it to the company by capping LTE royalty rates and/or requiring Qualcomm to agree to LTE licensing terms that it may not be happy with. Industry players have threatened to work around Qualcomm's OFDM/OFDMA patents if necessary in developing the LTE standard, though attempts to do just that in creating the WCDMA standard failed dismally.
So, what does all of this mean for the future of OFDM/OFDMA in WiMAX and LTE networks, not to mention the future of related patents held by Qualcomm?
Well, I have an answer for that one. It means there will be tense negotiations between the IPR haves and have-nots, likely leading to lawsuits as well as regulatory and legal challenges on an international basis.
In short: The stage is set for more of the same feuds that we've seen for years, only with OFDM/OFDMA, instead of CDMA, driving the latest round of grudges. <<
- Eric - |
