Intel sells 8,500 modem technology patents

Intel is going to auction a large part of its patent portfolio in the field of modem technology. Among other things, patents around 5g are under the hammer. Intel is also said to have sales plans for its entire modem division.

Those interested in bidding on the patents can register with Intel from the beginning of August. The auction concerns two parts of Intel’s modem patent portfolio, IAM writes. One concerns radio technology and consists of about six thousand patents related to 3g, 4g and 5g, supplemented by seventeen hundred patents in the field of implementation of wireless technologies.

The other part consists of a broad set of five hundred patents related to semiconductors and electronics. While a significant portion of Intel’s patents pertain to wireless technology, the company would still have a significant remainder.

In April, The Wall Street Journal reported that Intel is seeking a buyer for its modem division. Apple, among others, would be interested in this. Intel announced that it would stop developing modems after Apple and Qualcomm ended their year-long legal battle worldwide. The settlement included license agreements and chip purchase agreements, which resulted in Intel losing its largest customer.

There is likely to be a lot of interest in the 5G patents in particular, IAM expects, which makes a comparison with the sale of Nortel patents in 2011. Then the Rockstar consortium consisting of Apple, Blackberry, Ericsson, Microsoft, Sony and EMC paid 4 .5 billion dollars. Google caught up with that.