| reply to patcat88
Re: WiMAX=Motorola Canopy said by patcat88:Yep, I've been right. WiMAX is going to be nothing more than an "open" competitor to Motorola Canopy. Fixed wireless only, its dead as mobile wireless, it will be a niche, like iDEN is today. For all the reasons we've talked about endlessly, I'm confidant that WiMAX will be more that just a cheaper, faster, open version of Moto's Canopy.
I'm not sure who owns the Intellectual Property for LTE, I know UTMS/HSDPA is owned by Qualcomm (CDMA the multiple access method patents).
That's just it, nobody fully knows the patent licensing situation for LTE.
If it's anything like 3G patent licensing morass, and it looks like it could very well be, then it will be a world of hurt.
Qualcomm has basically extorted the industry of billions, and litigation has continued even recently (Qualcomm vs Broadcom, Qualcomm vs Nokia, etc). As much as $50 per 3G device is paid in patent royalties.
WiMAX has a large patent pool and growing as a hedge against this madness. That doesn't guarantee it won't happen, but it's far less likely compared to the 3GPP world. Where patent licensing is done on a bilateral basis, instead of a multi-lateral basis in the CE industry. |
