Mobile chip giant Qualcomm was hit Tuesday with a US antitrust suit alleging it abused its dominant position in the market for processors used in cell phones and other devices. The US Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit in federal court in California claiming Qualcomm's practices amount to "unlawful maintenance of a monopoly in baseband processors," which are devices that enable cellular communications in phones and other products. Qualcomm, which is the dominant provider of chips for smartphones, has faced similar antitrust investigations in the European Union and China, and last month was hit with a record fine of $850 million by South Korean enforcement regulators.



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