James Delahunty
14 Apr 2008 20:48
A number of the world's largest players in mobile technology have come together to agree on a licensing framework for their patents dealing with an emerging mobile technology. Long Term Evolution (LTE) promises to make everything from downloading videos to content sharing faster, although the first networks are not expected for at least two years and some operators may opt to wait longer until the technology matures.
"Today's announcement is a step towards establishing more predictable and transparent licensing costs in a manner that enables faster adoption of new technologies," Ilkka Rahnasto, head of Nokia's intellectual property rights said in a statement.
The companies have committed to keeping royalty levels for essential LTE patents in handsets below 10 percent of the sale price, and have agreed a maximum royalty in LTE-enabled notebooks must stay below $10. Nokia, Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent, NEC Corp, NextWave Wireless, Nokia Siemens Networks and Sony Ericsson were among those involved.