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Intel will reportedly auction off its modem IP and patents

By Kenny Yeo - on 1 Jul 2019, 9:08am

Intel will reportedly auction off its modem IP and patents

According to the latest rumors, Intel is planning to auction off its vast portfolio of mobile connectivity patents.

The report also say that the auction is separate from the company's attempts at looking for a potential buyer.

Previously, it was reported that Apple was looking to acquire Intel's 5G business unit, so it doesn't mean that talks are off yet.

As a recap, Intel decided it would exit the 5G business almost immediately after Apple and Qualcomm made up and signed a multi-year chipset deal.

With Intel's biggest customer now clearly in the Qualcomm camp, the chip giant said that there was " no clear path to profitability and positive returns."

At any rate, Intel is said to be looking to auction off around 8,500 patents from its portfolio. About 6,000 of them is related to 3G, 4G, and 5G standards, and another 1,700 pertains to wireless implementation technologies.

The size of Intel's portfolio is likely to draw plenty of interests and there could be drama if the auction goes ahead.

Given the US government's stance on selling technology to the Chinese, it would be interesting to see how they would react if a Chinese company — like Huawei, for example — decides to bid aggressively.

Source: IAM

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