4 ms·

Is it possible the whole push to 5G is to get out from under royalties? The first published 5G spec was not Qualcomm. There is definitely a technical improvem

Is it possible the whole push to 5G is to get out from under royalties? The first published 5G spec was not Qualcomm. There is definitely a technical improvement, but I’ll bet there is more to it.

mdasen 9y ago
It seems unlikely. 5G NR has huge Qualcomm support. I believe specs aren't generally published by companies, but they use a lot of the IP from companies. That IP is supposed to be licensed under FRAND terms to anyone (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory).
- nqzero 9y ago
  the qualcomm terms sound like none of the above
  - oarsinsync 9y ago
    To use the example cited in the article, 5% licensing / royalty on the total cost on the phone may or may not be fair depending on the phone. 5% on a $500 phone is $25 5% on a $50 phone is $2.50 Switching to a fixed $25 fee makes it 50% on a $50 phone. On phones of yore, even “smartphones” in the early-mid 2000s, the radio was still arguably one of the most important / expensive components. This may just be bias on my part on how terrible I thought Nokia and Blackberry smartphones (typically around $500 RRP) were though. My loathing of J2ME knows no bounds.
kalleboo 9y ago
Qualcomm has plenty of 5G patents http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2016/03/31/5g-mobile-networks-next-big-battleground/id=67632/ http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2016/03/31/5g-mobile-networks-next...
- Tempest1981 9y ago
  Proposed 5G royalties per device: https://www.fiercewireless.com/5g/qualcomm-to-charge-up-to-16-25-royalties-for-every-5g-phone-more-than-ericsson-s-5-phone https://www.fiercewireless.com/5g/qualcomm-to-charge-up-to-1... Excerpt: "2.275% of the selling price of branded single-mode 5G handsets; and a royalty rate of 3.25% ... (for) multi-mode (3G/4G/5G) handsets"
ahartmetz 9y ago
What I read somewhere is that patentability is an extremely important design goal of mobile standards. Everybody who contributes can get a few patents in. It even goes so far that more complicated, worse performing, less energy efficient technologies are chosen instead of better alternatives because they can be patented. "To promote the Progress of Useful Arts" my ass.

Is it possible the whole push to 5G is to get out from under royalties? The first published 5G spec was not Qualcomm. There is definitely a technical improvement, but I’ll bet there is more to it.

mdasen 9y ago

It seems unlikely. 5G NR has huge Qualcomm support. I believe specs aren't generally published by companies, but they use a lot of the IP from companies. That IP is supposed to be licensed under FRAND terms to anyone (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory).

nqzero 9y ago
the qualcomm terms sound like none of the above
- oarsinsync 9y ago
  To use the example cited in the article, 5% licensing / royalty on the total cost on the phone may or may not be fair depending on the phone. 5% on a $500 phone is $25 5% on a $50 phone is $2.50 Switching to a fixed $25 fee makes it 50% on a $50 phone. On phones of yore, even “smartphones” in the early-mid 2000s, the radio was still arguably one of the most important / expensive components. This may just be bias on my part on how terrible I thought Nokia and Blackberry smartphones (typically around $500 RRP) were though. My loathing of J2ME knows no bounds.

kalleboo 9y ago

Qualcomm has plenty of 5G patents http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2016/03/31/5g-mobile-networks-next-big-battleground/id=67632/ http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2016/03/31/5g-mobile-networks-next...

Tempest1981 9y ago
Proposed 5G royalties per device: https://www.fiercewireless.com/5g/qualcomm-to-charge-up-to-16-25-royalties-for-every-5g-phone-more-than-ericsson-s-5-phone https://www.fiercewireless.com/5g/qualcomm-to-charge-up-to-1... Excerpt: "2.275% of the selling price of branded single-mode 5G handsets; and a royalty rate of 3.25% ... (for) multi-mode (3G/4G/5G) handsets"

ahartmetz 9y ago

What I read somewhere is that patentability is an extremely important design goal of mobile standards. Everybody who contributes can get a few patents in. It even goes so far that more complicated, worse performing, less energy efficient technologies are chosen instead of better alternatives because they can be patented. "To promote the Progress of Useful Arts" my ass.