On 18 July 2019, the European Commission ("EC") fined
Qualcomm for abusing its market dominance by selling 3G baseband
chipsets below cost, to force its competitor Icera out of the
market.
The EC found that Qualcomm sold three of its UMTS (a 3G
standard) chipsets at predatory levels between mid-2009 and
mid-2011, being dominant in the global market for UMTS chipsets in
the relevant period. Qualcomm sold these chipsets, which are used
in smartphones and tablets to deliver wireless connectivity, to
Huawei and ZTE, two "strategically important"
customers. Qualcomm targeted these customers as part of a
deliberate strategy to exclude Icera, "its main rival at
the time in the market segment offering advanced data rate
performance". Icera was a UK start-up and Qualcomm's
behavior took place when Icera was establishing itself as a viable
alternative in this leading-edge segment. Icera was acquired by
NVIDIA in May 2011, which subsequently wound down part of the
business in
