Intel’s upcoming auction follows the company’s April decision to exit the 5G smartphone modem business. Intel stopped work on 5G modem technology after Apple and Qualcomm reached a settlement and a supply agreement that will see Qualcomm providing 5G modem chips for future iPhones.
Multiple rumors have suggested Apple and Intel have held talks about Apple’s potential purchase of Intel’s German modem unit. The two were in talks as early as this month, with Intel planning to sell its modem business off in pieces.
Intel is aiming to sell off 8,500 assets from its patent portfolio, including 6,000 patents related to 3G, 4G, and 5G cellular standards and an additional 1,700 patents on wireless implementation technologies.
The auction that Intel has planned is separate from its efforts to sell its smartphone modem business, though IAM speculates that an interested buyer could potentially pick up both. It’s also possible that a group of companies could band together to purchase the patents that are up for grabs.
It could be that Intel’s decision to…
https://www.macrumors.com/2019/06/25/intel-modem-patent-auction/
