EU probes Qualcomm practices

brussels -- European Union antitrust regulators are investigating U.S. wireless technologies company Qualcomm Inc. for possible abusive business practices, European officials said Monday.

Qualcomm, the world’s second-largest chip maker for cellphones, might have violated EU competition rules by refusing to share licensing terms for its mobile-phone technology, EU spokesman Jonathan Todd said.

The probe could take as long as two years, Todd said. Six mobile-phone companies -- Broadcom Corp., NEC Corp., Nokia Corp., LM Ericsson, Panasonic Mobile Communications and Texas Instruments Inc. -- had filed complaints with the EU over Qualcomm’s practices, Todd said.

Competitors say Irvine-based Qualcomm’s royalty fees for next-generation mobile-phone chips are too high and thus broke agreements among patent holders to keep costs at a reasonable level.

Steve Altman, president of Qualcomm, said the EU probe would give the company the opportunity “to demonstrate that the complaints are without merit and are motivated by commercial considerations.”

Qualcomm’s shares slipped 17 cents to $42.09.