The two companies have been wrangling over patents since May 2005, when Broadcom filed two lawsuits in a California court alleging that Qualcomm had infringed 10 of its patents. Earlier this month, the companies settled two of Broadcom's patent claims, and in February, they each agreed to drop two patent claims against each other.
Broadcom officials told the ITC that they asked that only Qualcomm handsets be banned so that the effect on wireless customers would be minimal. Customers use basic handsets for voice and text messaging, and those functions normally don't require EvDO, Broadcom said. Other devices such as PDAs that use EvDO to access the Internet would operate normally, and companies could import those devices, Broadcom said.
"No EvDO cellular network would be turned off," McGregor said. "No customers would be turned off."
ITC chairman Daniel Pearson questioned why Broadcom didn't ask for all devices using the patented technology to be banned. The proposed remedy is a compromise, McGregor answered.
"We would like to exclude all of those things," McGregor said. "We also want to find a balance that'd meet the public good."
In addition to other objections, some public emergency-response agencies are scheduled to testify before the ITC Thursday, with many arguing a ban on EvDO chips would hurt police officers' and firefighters' ability to communicate with each other. But Frances Edwards, a political-science professor at San Jose State University and former director of emergency preparedness for the city of San Jose, said police and fire departments don't rely on cell phones for critical communications.
Cell phone networks often get overloaded during emergencies, she said. In addition, laptops and PDAs with EvDO would continue to be available, she noted.
This story was updated on March 21, 2007
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