American-based computer and smartphone chip maker Qualcomm was fined $1.2 billion Wednesday by the European Union for violating antitrust regulations in a series of deals the company cut with Apple.
According to the EU , Qualcomm paid Apple billions of dollars between 2011 and 2016 for an exclusive arrangement to provide LTE modems to the iPhone maker, which shut out other companies from providing parts for Apple devices.
“Qualcomm illegally shut out rivals from the market for LTE baseband chipsets for over five years, thereby cementing its market dominance,” European Union commissioner Margrethe Vestager said. “Qualcomm paid billions of US Dollars to a key customer, Apple, so that it would not buy from rivals.”
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