European Union regulators once again have Qualcomm Inc. in their sights.

Three sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg today that the EU is preparing to fine the chipmaker over anticompetitive business practices.

The news comes 18 months after European antitrust authorities slapped Qualcomm with a 997 million euro ($1.13 billion) penalty for undermining rival chipmakers. Qualcomm had an exclusivity deal with Apple Inc. between 2011 and 2016 that locked out competitors from doing business with the iPhone maker.

This new fine the EU is reportedly planning focuses on a different market. According to Bloomberg, regulators have taken issue with how Qualcomm priced its 3G chips for mobile dongles, small modems that can be connected to a computer via a USB port.

The term 3G refers to wireless networking technology two generations older than the latest 5G standard currently being rolled out worldwide. The EU has reportedly found that Qualcomm sold its 3G dongle chips below cost from 2009 to 2011. Regulators are said to believe that the chipmaker’s pricing practices drove Nvidia Corp. subsidiary Icera, which made competing chips, out of the market.

The sources who leaked word of the fine said it could be handed down as soon as next month. Qualcomm might get off easier than in the Apple exclusivity case, since the alleged antitrust violations only ran for three years as opposed to five like its agreement with the iPhone maker. Plus, there’s the fact that the mobile dongle market is much smaller than the handset market.

Qualcomm’s deal with Apple has also proven significant in the context of an antitrust suit filed against the company by the Federal Trade Commission. Last month, the U.S. District Court judge presiding over the case ruled that the chipmaker’s exclusivity agreements with major customers harmed rivals.

The decision also calls on Qualcomm to implement a series of major changes to its business practices. It mandates that the chipmaker renegotiate technology licensing deals with customers in “good faith,” as well as share certain key patents with competitors. 

Qualcomm is appealing both the U.S. ruling and the EU’s 997 million-euro fine.

Photo: Eugenuity/Flickr