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Apple in Advanced Talks to Buy Intel’s Smartphone-Modem Chip Business

wsj.com

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Re: Apple in Advanced Talks to Buy Intel’s Smartphone-Modem Chip Business

#31

Post by fapjacks »

ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #26
phenylene wrote: post #19

Can someone explain why Intel was having such a hard time competing with Qualcomm? What are the challenges in developing modems?

Intel's modem division was not exactly Intel, it was the modem business unit they bought from Infineon Semiconductors of Germany in 2011. Having worked in the semiconductor business in Germany and having friends who worked at Infineon there, the cause would be the corporate culture that rewards incompetent management riding the gravy train(old boys club) instead of engineering effort and playing the politics game is…

It's too bad anything Apple manufactures is effectively taken completely off the market unless you are interested in buying the thing packaged inside of extremely expensive form factor.

Re: Apple in Advanced Talks to Buy Intel’s Smartphone-Modem Chip Business

#32

Post by kennywinker »

shmerl wrote: post #22

Apple getting more patents? What can go wrong.

I don’t think apple has a particularly bad track record with abusing patents... they’ve used them in big ip battles with major competitors who also used patents against them, never to crush small innovators that I am aware of.

Re: Apple in Advanced Talks to Buy Intel’s Smartphone-Modem Chip Business

#33

Post by kingosticks »

bpye wrote: post #2

This worries me. Wouldn't this leave us with Qualcomm once again the only manafacturer of cellular modems for everyone else? I somehow doubt Apple would keep supplying the Intel parts to any other OEMs.

Wouldn't this then be a reason for a regulator to block a deal like this? Would Apple have to 'promise' to at least try and sell chips to other OEMs in order to avoid leaving others in a monopoly situation with Qualcomm?

Re: Apple in Advanced Talks to Buy Intel’s Smartphone-Modem Chip Business

#34

Post by askvictor »

kingosticks wrote: post #33
bpye wrote: post #2

This worries me. Wouldn't this leave us with Qualcomm once again the only manafacturer of cellular modems for everyone else? I somehow doubt Apple would keep supplying the Intel parts to any other OEMs.

Wouldn't this then be a reason for a regulator to block a deal like this? Would Apple have to 'promise' to at least try and sell chips to other OEMs in order to avoid leaving others in a monopoly situation with Qualcomm?

The alternative being for Intel to just shutter the division, leaving Qualcomm with a monopoly?

Re: Apple in Advanced Talks to Buy Intel’s Smartphone-Modem Chip Business

#35

Post by rasz »

bpye wrote: post #2

This worries me. Wouldn't this leave us with Qualcomm once again the only manafacturer of cellular modems for everyone else? I somehow doubt Apple would keep supplying the Intel parts to any other OEMs.

Nah, Chinese are developing "their own" designs, like http://www.unisoc.com/unisoc-launches-5g-technology-platform...

oh wait, Unisoc is the company Intel shared 5G modem secrets with https://www.scmp.com/tech/science-research/article/2187895/i... ...

Re: Apple in Advanced Talks to Buy Intel’s Smartphone-Modem Chip Business

#36

Post by atombender »

IceWreck wrote: post #13

Apple sued Qualcomm to drop their prices and used Intel to keep them in check. After their settlement/agreement with Qualcomm, they started using Qualcomm and dropped Intel and then Intel quit the smartphone chip business. Now theyre planning to buy Intel's smartphone SoC business for a fraction of the money they would've paid before. Nice strategy, but its somewhat unethical.

Based on everything I've read, your comment is a complete distortion of what actually happened.

Apple really wanted Intel to provide their chips, to the point of shipping a phone with dual Intel-Qualcomm modems, with the Qualcomm one throttled because Intel couldn't match its speed. Intel just wasn't able to make their modem business work, after years of work and at least four (!) acquisitions of modem makers.

Apple had no choice but to go back to Qualcomm if it wanted to sell phones.

https://semiaccurate.com/2019/04/18/why-did-intel-kill-of-th...

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/05/how-qualcomm-sho...

Re: Apple in Advanced Talks to Buy Intel’s Smartphone-Modem Chip Business

#37

Post by DannyBee »

bpye wrote: post #2

This worries me. Wouldn't this leave us with Qualcomm once again the only manafacturer of cellular modems for everyone else? I somehow doubt Apple would keep supplying the Intel parts to any other OEMs.

In mergers/acquisitions like this, what used to happen is that the FTC/etc would require that they continue to sell or support all comers for some period of time.

For example, when Google bought ITA, ITA was required to continue licensing the software on "commercially reasonable terms" to other people.

See https://www.wired.com/2011/04/google-ita/ for an example.

Now, whether this will happen in today's FTC/DOJ, no idea.

But that is one traditional path here.

Re: Apple in Advanced Talks to Buy Intel’s Smartphone-Modem Chip Business

#39

Post by kingosticks »

askvictor wrote: post #34
kingosticks wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wouldn't this then be a reason for a regulator to block a deal like this? Would Apple have to 'promise' to at least try and sell chips to other OEMs in order to avoid leaving others in a monopoly situation with Qualcomm?

The alternative being for Intel to just shutter the division, leaving Qualcomm with a monopoly?

I honestly don't know what's better: screwing everyone altogether + Intel job losses, or screwing everyone except another already big fish?

A better alternative would be for another interested buyer to appear at the negotiating table, presumably that would require the price to somehow magically come down.

Edit: @DannyBee above has already helpfully commented that the FTC has previously required that the buyer continues to sell to / support customers for some time period following the purchase.

Re: Apple in Advanced Talks to Buy Intel’s Smartphone-Modem Chip Business

#40

Post by TorKlingberg »

godzillabrennus wrote: post #20
StudentStuff wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IIRC that deal was Ericsson fabbing their LTE & 5G basestations on Intel's 10nm process, but Intel's 10nm process can't produce large working chips in volume (and likely never will), which has kneecapped Ericsson as a cellular vendor.

TIL Ericsson still exists.

Ericsson is one of the biggest vendors of telecom network equipment, including 4G base stations. They sold the phone business to Sony years ago.
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