Intel Launches Blockbuster Auction For Its Mobile Portfolio

In what looks set to become one of the highest profile patent sales in years, Intel has put its IP relating to cellular wireless connectivity on the auction block. The company is seeking to divest around 8,500 assets from its massive portfolio. From a report: The news comes as the chip giant searches for a buyer for its 5G smartphone modem business having announced in April that it was pulling out of the market. That was after as it had become increasingly clear that the company, which has been the supplier of 4G modem chips to Apple for the last few years, was struggling to release a 5G product even though the rollout of the next generation of mobile technology is well underway. The auction offering is comprised of two parts: the cellular portfolio and a connected device portfolio. The former includes approximately 6,000 patent assets related to 3G, 4G and 5G cellular standards and an additional 1,700 assets that read on wireless implementation technologies. The latter is made up of 500 patents with broad applicability across the semiconductor and electronics industries. Although that represents a large portion of Intel's cellular IP it is understood that it will retain significant wireless assets.

In other words

[Locke2005]

No private company can compete with a company heavily subsidized by the Chinese government. Sounds like it might be time for the DoD to step in. Remember when the DoD invented the internet?

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[_merlin]

Ericsson and Nokia have managed to produce 5G implementations. Intel just seems to fuck up or sell off everything that isn't x86 sooner or later. It's pretty sad - Xscale was the best-performing ARM implementation before Intel offloaded it and Marvel didn't innovate with it.

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[MachineShedFred]

They have all the patents that they acquired from the Infineon mobile group, as well as all the crap they did with WiMAX. There's still some relevant stuff in there, and the patents themselves for 5G are probably worthwhile as well.

Just because you "invent" a tech and patent it, doesn't mean your engineers have the ability to manufacture it at scale with the desired power outputs, low battery draw, etc.

Integration of a technology is quite different from the invention of that idea. Maybe a company that can

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[Locke2005]

My first job was for a company (Advanced Computer Communications) that would not have existed if it were not for DoD funding. They made the routing nodes for the original internet.

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[Billly Gates]

Don't be silly. That would be socialism! Gasp

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[bn-7bc]

hold on am i totally fromg here or was the firdt packed switced wan actually ARPANET, which was funded by DARPA hmm deffinetly not, military --- Hold on the D in darpa is DEfence, I rest my case

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[radarskiy]

Qualcomm is subsidized by the Chinese government?

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[Locke2005]

Ever heard of Huawei?

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[MachineShedFred]

They're not hiding them very well then, since everybody already knows that.

I bet Apple offered to buy them.

[Dallas May]

I bet Apple offered to buy Intel's technology and Intel's board said well as well see who else's shopping.

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[radarskiy]

It was relatively recently that Intel moved their wireless modems onto an Intel process with an x86 communication processor*. It would be hilarious to see Apple immediately move the product line back to a TSMC process and an ARM communication processor.

*: Yes, Intel has been selling ARM based products for years.

The Meltdown continues.

[Gravis Zero]

Intel seems to be throwing everything overboard in an attempt to save their sinking ship. Despite making new offerings, they still haven't fixed the Meltdown bug in their latest microarchitecture.

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[laffer1]

Considering Zen 2 caught up, yes.

AMD can buy it

[aliquis]

They use others capacity for manufacturing anyway .. ;D

I'll bid

[Only Time Will Tell]

$10, and then open source the entire portfolio.

Huawei will buy it...

[Bearhouse]

Oh wait...