ITC weighs Qualcomm chip ban

Qualcomm appeared before the U.S. International Trade Commission on Wednesday seeking to fight off rival Broadcom from getting a ban on imports of some of its phone technology into the U.S.

The trade commission has ruled that Qualcomm is in violation of Broadcom patents that regulate power consumption as a phone moves on and off network. The public hearing was held to determine what the punishment and implications of that ruling would be. Broadcom asked the panel to ban shipments of all Qualcomm phones into the U.S. that contained the chipset in question--primarily EV-DO and W-CDMA phones made by Samsung and Motorola--a measure Qualcomm resisted saying it would have huge implications on the cellular and chip industries in the U.S. as well as the public safety sector.

Broadcom, however, said that alternatives to Qualcomm-powered phones are readily available.