SAN DIEGO–Qualcomm Inc. announced that chipmaker Newport Media Inc. signed a royalty-free agreement to design, manufacture and market Qualcomm’s MediaFlo multicast mobile TV technology.
The move is somewhat surprising since Qualcomm has a history of collecting what many in the industry consider inflated royalties for its patented CDMA and related technologies.
“In order to encourage multiple FLO chip vendors, Qualcomm is enabling companies such as Newport Media to develop and market FLO chips incorporating Qualcomm’s patented technologies without payment of royalties to Qualcomm,” said Marv Blecker, president of Qualcomm Technology Licensing.
Newport Media said it plans to offer its customers chipsets based on FLO technology.
