Qualcomm to build research center, invest in venture in S. Korea

By Lee Youkyung
SEOUL, Feb. 1 (Yonhap) -- Qualcomm Inc., the world's largest maker of mobile
phone chips, said Monday that it will establish a research and development center
with its South Korean partners in a bid to develop next-generation mobile
technologies.

The center will focus on multimedia projects in cooperation with South Korean
companies and academic institutions, the company said.
"This center will be linked directly with Qualcomm overall corporate R&D,"
Qualcomm chief Paul Jacobs told a press conference in Seoul. "This center will
allow us to take the capabilities that we have internally and link those
capabilities with (those) of Korean companies, government labs and also academic
institutions,"
The San Diego-based chipmaker will also invest $4 million in Pulsus Technologies,
a South Korean maker of digital audio technology chips.
"This should be the first announcement in a series of many," another Qualcomm
executive told reporters.
The research center to be built outside San Diego is the second such by Qualcomm
following another in China.
Qualcomm owns key patents for code division multiple access (CDMA), the world's
most widely used wireless network standard for mobile communications.
Last July, South Korea's fair trade commission slapped Qualcomm with a record 260
billion won (US$208 million) fine for violating the nation's fair competition
rules. The watchdog ruled that the U.S. chipmaking giant demanded higher
royalties from companies using its rivals' products. Qualcomm has said it does
not accept the ruling.
"We do disagree and the legal process will continue," said Jacobs.
South Korean handset makers, including No. 2 Samsung Electronics Co. and
third-largest LG Electronics Inc., rely heavily on Qualcom chips. The company
accounted for 99.4 percent of South Korea's CDMA modem chip market in 2008.
ylee@yna.co.kr
(END)

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