Qualcomm to make first payment for violating competition law in Taiwan

Qualcomm will pay T$390 million ($13.35 million), its first installment of a fine for anti-trust violations in Taiwan, the Taiwan Fair Trade Commission said on Tuesday, as the US chipmaker grapples with issues around its business model.

The first payment is part of 60 installments that Qualcomm will have to fork out for the fine totalling $23.4 billion the commission slapped on the chipmaker for the violations, the regulator told a news conference. As part of the agreement, the chipmaker will make monthly payments over the next five years to pay off the fine, the commission said.

Earlier, the commission said Qualcomm had a monopoly over the chip market for several so-called modem technologies, which provide wireless data connectivity for mobile phones, and refused to license its technology to other industry players.

Qualcomm’s fine is the latest in a years-long streak of regulatory setbacks to its business model that comes as it also fights US regulators and iPhone maker Apple in court over many of the same legal issues.

In December 2016, South Korean regulators fined Qualcomm $854 million for violating its competition laws, a ruling that followed a $975 million fine from Chinese regulators in 2015.