On this special episode of The Six Five - Insiders Edition, hosts Patrick Moorhead and Daniel Newman are joined byQualcomm EVP and QTL President Alex Rogers to discuss Qualcomm’s recent win in the Court of Appeals, its licensing business, 5G intellectual property, and how Qualcomm helping spread the technology around the world.

 

In our conversation, Alex, Patrick and I explored Qualcomm’s recent victory in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals which overturned a 2019 ruling that Qualcomm had violated antitrust law. Alex explained that Qualcomm has a unique business model with technology development on one side and licensing and patents on the other side. The court ruled that Qualcomm is allowed to license patents separately from chip sales without violating laws. This is a huge win for business model innovation.

 

Qualcomm’s two sides of business. Alex shared more about the different sides of Qualcomm’s business model. First, the Qualcomm Technology Licensing (QTL) business takes the intellectual property that Qualcomm develops and seeks to get a fair return by way of royalty payments. Essentially, QTL is licensing other companies to use its technology. The royalty payments in turn, continue to drive and fund the innovation that is happening in Qualcomm’s semiconductor business. The semiconductor business makes the chipsets that drive the implementation of the technology.

 

Qualcomm’s role in 5G technology. Alex explored all the vital roles that Qualcomm fills in the development and production of 5G technology including research, standards, and implementation. They are a leader in all aspects of 5G, but most importantly, Qualcomm helps OEMs all over the world bring the technology to market. Essentially, Qualcomm is enabling cellular and the mobile industry to move forward.

 

Getting the technology to succeed. We also discussed how QTL utilizes engineers to offer services to licensees to ensure the technology is implemented successfully. The company offers training modules, consultations, and testing. They even built labs around the world so licensees can test implementations before releasing to the public. Qualcomm’s interest isn’t for self-gain, but rather to spread 5G technology around the world.

 

5G will be a gamechanger. Finally, we explored what the future holds for 5G and how our lives will forever be altered by widespread adoption. In the past, technologies like GPS have altered the way we live, work, and connect. 5G will be no different. Alex believes — as do we — that we are on the cusp of something revolutionary and it’s only a matter of time before we will start to see the impact on the implementations.

 

If you’d like to read more about Qualcomm, QTL, and the advancements in 5G, be sure to check out their website. While you’re at it, be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode of The Six Five Podcast.

 

Disclaimer: This show is for information and entertainment purposes only. While we will discuss publicly traded companies on this show. The contents of this show should not be taken as investment advice.