Qualcomm has entered into a new 5-year patent license deal with LG Electronics to develop, manufacture and sell 3G, 4G and 5G smartphones.
LGE in June said it was unable to narrow differences with US-based Qualcomm and renew its chip license agreement.
Qualcomm in April also reached a settlement that cleared the road for iPhones to once again use its modem chips.
But Apple in July bought Intel Corp’s modem business for $1 billion. The acquisition of Intel modem business will assist Apple to speed up the launch of its 5G iPhone.
LG launched its first 5G smartphone powered by Qualcomm in the United States in May after introducing it in South Korea in the same month.
LG is the third-largest smartphone vendor in the U.S. market with an 11 percent market share as of the first quarter of this year, and trails Apple and Samsung, according to research firm Counterpoint.
LG has been renegotiating a licensing deal with Qualcomm after terminating the earlier contract in 2018 to seek better terms with the chipmaker.
LG said Qualcomm would be able to extend its chipset monopoly status into the 5G market if the court decided to put the antitrust ruling on hold.
Meanwhile, media reports suggested that LG Electronics is planning to shift manufacturing of smartphones to Vietnam from South Korea to enhance production efficiency during a slump in the global phone market.
