Qualcomm, China's BYD ink 3G CDMA license deal

Qualcomm Inc. has entered into a subscriber unit license agreement with BYD Company Ltd, a manufacturer of rechargeable battery and provider of handset components, modules manufacturing and assembly in China.

Under the terms of the royalty-bearing agreement, Qualcomm has granted BYD a worldwide patent license to develop, manufacture and sell CDMA2000 subscriber units. The royalties payable by BYD are at Qualcomm's standard rates.

"BYD will now be able to offer further vertically integrated services by expanding its product offering and bringing mobile connectivity to its OEM customers," said Marvin Blecker, president of Qualcomm Technology Licensing. "Qualcomm continues to expand the size and scope of its licensing business, thereby increasing both growth and competition within the wireless market."

"BYD is excited to extend its product offering to include CDMA2000 handset solutions to its OEM customers in China and worldwide," said He Tao, general manager of BYD's ODM division. "BYD's OEM customers will now be able to benefit from BYD's vertically integrated business model in the CDMA2000 sector. With this model combined with CDMA2000 subscriber unit license and technology support from Qualcomm, BYD can develop and manufacture handset products with a comprehensive feature set, optimal value, high quality and high reliability."