Qualcomm also would seek an emergency stay of the ruling from a federal appeals court. The company also is reportedly looking to design around the contested patent, held by chief rival Broadcom. Qualcomm continues to maintain that Broadcom’s patent is invalid and not infringed.

Having chosen not to develop an EV-DO solution and having failed in the marketplace to generate interest in its WCDMA products, Broadcom brought this litigation against Qualcomm but has used it as a vehicle to attack the US cellular industry, even though Broadcom has never accused any wireless manufacturers or operators of infringement or any other wrongdoing, said Qualcomm, in a statement.

ITC’s ban does not apply to current model phones that use Qualcomm’s 3G chipsets, which will continue to be imported into the country. However, any future model phones cannot use the chips, ruled the ITC.

If upheld, the ban would affect about 4.2 million shipments of EV-DO and WCDMA mobile phones this year, according to research firm iSuppli. This would represent just 4.4% of North American mobile-phone shipments in the second half of the year, iSuppli said. The OEMs that would be most affected, in order of degree, are No 3 mobile-phone maker Samsung Electronics, fifth-ranked LG Electronics and second-placed Motorola, said the researcher.

San Diego, California-based Qualcomm would argue that the public injury as a result of the ban would be grossly disproportionate to any benefit flowing to Broadcom from such broad enforcement of a recently purchased patent, according to Qualcomm.

Irvine, California-based Broadcom acquired the contested patent, along with more than 100 others, when it bought Unova, which is now Intermec, in 2002 for $24m. The technology at issue saves battery power when a mobile phone cannot get a signal and is used in Qualcomm chipsets for 3G networks that use EV-DO, or evolution-data optimized, and WCDMA, or wideband code division multiple access, technologies.

Broadcom does not make or sell EV-DO chips, and Broadcom’s claims that it can supply WCDMA products for the US have been rebuffed by WCDMA operators in their submissions to the ITC, Qualcomm said.

Broadcom general counsel David Dull said, We simply want to be adequately compensated for the use of our intellectual property. To that end, we have made it clear to Qualcomm that we are open to discussions regarding the potential for licensing of our patent. The ball is in Qualcomm’s court.

Qualcomm’s appeal to the President and federal courts will also include a public safety angle. Specifically, the significant investment Qualcomm and US wireless operators have made in enhanced E911 emergency service capabilities for 3G networks. Affordable new phone designs, which further improve the performance and accuracy in emergency situations, will be impacted by this order, according to Qualcomm.

Verizon Wireless has confirmed it also would be seeking a presidential veto on the ruling, and also will be filing an appeal in the federal appeals court in the immediate future. Verizon Wireless, along with Sprint Next, has invested heavily in EV-DO networks, and would likely be significantly hurt by the ban. Qualcomm is their sole EV-DO chipset supplier.

AT&T also would likely be affected by the ban because it is building a WCDMA network. Company spokesperson Michael Coe said AT&T was considering all of its options. But he declined to provide any additional comment.

President Bush has 60 days to make a decision.