Key vendors absent from new LTE licensing scheme

Six vendors announced they have committed to a framework designed to offer predictable and more transparent IP licensing. Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, NEC, NextWave Wireless, Nokia, Nokia Siemens Networks and Sony Ericsson have specifically agreed to royalties for LTE that total less than 10 percent of the resale price for handsets and less than $10 for laptops. However, it is up to the companies involved to decide how this (up to) 10 percent is split between them.

"The adoption of this initiative will reassure operators of the early widespread adoption of LTE technology throughout the consumer electronics industry," Ericsson's SVP, GM and CTO Håkan Eriksson said in a statement.

Notably absent from the agreement are Qualcomm, Motorola and Nortel. Without those major players, will such an agreement work out?

For more on the LTE licensing agreement:
- read this press release [1] from the companies

Related articles:
- Vodafone CEO: WiMAX has a home in LTE. Story on Vodafone [2] 
- China Mobile joins Vodafone, Verizon in LTE trial. Story on LTE trials [3]