U.S. FTC to unveil Intel settlement details

LOS ANGELES, USA: The U.S. Federal Trade Commission will outline on Wednesday the terms of an agreement with Intel Corp to settle accusations the world's largest chip maker illegally used its market dominance to stifle competition.

The FTC said in a statement it planned to convene a news conference Wednesday morning in Washington, D.C., to discuss terms of the pact with Intel, which makes 80 per cent of the world's microprocessors.

The FTC and Intel said on June 21 they had struck a preliminary settlement deal, but did not give details. A source told Reuters last month the deal would afford the chip maker less marketing leeway in the future, but would not cost it any money.

The FTC in December accused the company of illegally smothering competition after receiving complaints from rivals Advanced Micro Devices and graphics chipmaker Nvidia Corp.

Intel has also run afoul of competition regulators elsewhere. The European Commission has fined Intel 1.06 billion euros ($1.4 billion) for illegally shutting out AMD, its much smaller rival in the PC microprocessor market, a decision Intel is appealing. Regulators in South Korea and Japan have also taken action against Intel.

The FTC said the settlement agreement will be posted for public comment but experts say there is little chance the comments would lead to substantial changes.

The case before the FTC is "In the Matter of Intel Corporation," docket number 9341.

Shares in Santa Clara, California-based Intel were flat in after-hours trading after closing at $20.87 on Nasdaq.