Qualcomm Gets Fined €242 Million by the European Union

Qualcomm is getting slapped with some more fines by the European Union. The company faced a $1.2 billion fine back in 2018 by the European Union, and it’s now getting a new fine over violating the EU antitrust rules.

European Commission today announced the €242 million, which is around $272 million. The commission is fining Qualcomm for engaging in predatory pricing between mid-2009 and mid-2011. Qualcomm apparently engaged in predatory pricing by selling three of its 3G chips to Huawei and ZTE below cost. The intention here was to eliminate Icera, an upcoming rival in the market back in the time. Icera later got acquired by Nvidia after it failed to compete against Qualcomm.

The commission clarified that Qualcomm’s market dominance wasn’t the reason behind the fines. Instead, the European Commission fined the chipmaker because it was abusing its market power by restricting competition. “The Commission concluded that Qualcomm’s conduct had a significant detrimental impact on competition. It prevented Icera from competing in the market, stifled innovation and ultimately reduced choice for consumers,” it wrote.

Qualcomm is also facing an antitrust ruling over abuse of power in the United States. The latest fine from the EU, however, may not be too significant for the company. It’s only 1.27% of its 2018 revenue, after all.