The European Commission said it signed an international multichip processor (MCP) agreement with the U.S., S. Korea and Taiwan. The deal, signed after a year of negotiations, covers trade in MCPs, eliminating customs duties and other charges on MCP imports among the signers. It’s expected to drive down the cost of devices that use MCPs, including mobile phones, MP3 players and PDAs. Semiconductors and semiconductor products already generally benefit from free trade under the terms of the 1996 WTO Information Technology Agreement. MCPs, though, aren’t covered by the 1996 agreement because they're so recent. The agreement takes effect April 1. Japan already applies no duties on MCPs and is expected to join later this year. The EC said the agreement is open to other MCP-producing countries.
Qualcomm filed another lawsuit against Broadcom, it said Wed., this one accusing the manufacturer of patent infringement in WCDMA-based chips for its wireless handsets. The suit, filed in U.S. Dist. Court, San Diego, is Qualcomm’s 3rd intellectual property suit against Broadcom. The first trial on Qualcomm’s complaints is to begin Jan. 2007. Broadcom also has suits pending against Qualcomm in the U.S. and Europe for what it claims are Qualcomm’s unfair pricing practices.
Former FCC Chief Economist Thomas Hazlett and Michael Calabrese, vp of the New America Foundation, disagreed sharply on where the FCC should draw the line in promoting unlicensed spectrum as an alternative to auctions. They faced off in a Catholic U. telecom symposium debate on the advantages of unlicensed vs. licensed spectrum.
Qualcomm is developing mobile TV chips based on the DVB- H standard, which rivals its own MediaFlo format, CEO Paul Jacobs said at the Reuters Global Technology, Media & Telecom Summit in N.Y. Mon. Qualcomm should help develop the standard, used by several rivals, because the wireless TV industry at large would benefit, Jacobs said: “It doesn’t always have to be a Qualcomm technology that’s deployed for us to benefit,” Jacobs said. The decision should help Qualcomm in Europe, where carriers greatly prefer the DVB-H standard and rival Nokia has its hq.
Sen. Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) plans to urge the Senate to take up his indecency bill (S-616) that would subject cable and satellite operators to indecency standards broadcasters face, an aide said Mon. at an NAB Legislative Conference. Rockefeller will push to include his bill in markup of telecom legislation in whole or “section-by-section,” Rockefeller aide James Reid said. He predicted the panel would vote this year on bringing cable and satellite “into the FCC’s regime.”
LAS VEGAS -- Telcos are only beginning to spend money on IPTV and next-generation networks, but they're starting to decide how, vendors said on the show floor at the TelecomNext convention here. “The big money will be spent over the next few years,” Anne Coulombe, SeaChange dir.-product mktg., said: “This is still nascent, but the big decisions are being made now.”
RF chip manufacturer SyChip launched a VoIP circuit for wireless applications this week, it said. SyChip said the device uses 3-5 times less power than other general-purpose processors because it requires less energy for real-time functions.
Israeli manufacturer E.N.Y. Optimus developed a wireless chip it said will improve network efficiency and cut prices in wireless hosting devices or computer motherboards. Optimus said the chip automatically recalibrates the parameters in whatever device houses it to adapt to network conditions.
Israeli manufacturer E.N.Y. Optimus developed a wireless chip it said will improve network efficiency and cut price in wireless hosting devices or computer motherboards. Optimus said the chip automatically recalibrates the parameters in whatever device houses it to adapt to network conditions.
RF chip manufacturer SyChip launched a VoIP circuit for wireless applications this week, it said. SyChip said the device uses 3-5 times less power than other general-purpose processors because it requires less energy for real-time functions.