The US Department of Justice, worried about the 5G race, asks to be heard if Qualcomm has declared its monopoly

The US Department of Justice asked Thursday for a hearing on the possible sanction of Qualcomm if a Californian judge was in agreement with the Federal Trade Commission and declares the chip maker a monopoly – largely because it's worried about competition in 5G.

In a statement of interest filed in the US District Court in San Jose, California, the DOJ antitrust division requested that "in the event that the court establishes liability for any of the claims of the FTC, it should order an additional briefing and hold a hearing on issues related to a cure ". The Justice Department said the court should carefully consider the remedy to be adopted because it is worried about the US position in the 5G race.

"There is a plausible prospect that an overly broad solution in this case could reduce competition and innovation in 5G technology markets and downstream applications that rely on this technology," states states -United. "Such a result could exceed the proper scope of an equitable antitrust remedy.In addition, it has the distinct potential to harm rather than help competition."

The United States, however, pointed out that it did not take a position on the merits of the FTC claims.

Qualcomm declined to comment. The FTC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Two years ago, the US Federal Trade Commission had criticized Qualcomm for holding a monopoly on wireless chips, forcing customers like Apple to work exclusively with it and demanding excessive license fees for its technology. The case was judged on Jan. 4, with leaders of the largest technology companies testifying Qualcomm's licensing practices. The FTC and Qualcomm presented his closing arguments on January 29and have been waiting since Judge Lucy Koh delivers her verdict. At the same time, both sides continue to negotiate a possible settlement.

the settlement reached last month between Apple and Qualcomm raised questions about the FTC case. Apple was the prime example of a company harmed by Qualcomm's business practices, and the two cases were reflected. Now that Apple and Qualcomm have solved their problems, Huawei remains the only big company continues to fight with Qualcomm for its licensing activities.

In January 2017, Apple had accused Qualcomm of anti-competitive practices that resulted in higher token prices, limited competition, and a lack of customer choice. Qualcomm, the world's largest maker of mobile phone chips, said the iPhone would not be possible without its technology and that it deserved to be paid for its innovation. Their agreement, reached during the trial pleadings last month, included a six-year license agreement and a multi-year chip supply agreement.

Partnership with Qualcomm is vital for Apple to launch an iPhone 5G. Qualcomm is the only chip maker in the United States to have a working 5G modem. MediaTek (Taiwan), Huawei (China) and Samsung (South Korea) are among its rivals. The Californian company Intel, whose only customer was Apple, was working on a 5G modem but said it abandoned his efforts hours after Apple and Qualcomm reached a settlement in their licensing dispute.

After years of working on 5G networks, considered as the fundamental foundation of augmented reality, telemedicine and other technological trends, ultra-fast wireless technology is being rolled out. Operators are starting up their networks and virtually every major Android handset manufacturer has announced plans to launch a 5G device this year. The vast majority of these devices will use Qualcomm's 5G modems.

The United States has long been giving priority to the leader of 5G, which could change our way of life.