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WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal agency's decision to ban U.S. imports of new cell phones made with Qualcomm semiconductors could slow the introduction of new handsets and lead to higher prices for cell phone users.
The U.S. International Trade Commission said Thursday that it was banning the phones because the Qualcomm chips violate a patent held by Broadcom Corp.
The import ban would not apply to mobile phone models that are already being imported, just to future models. But because mobile phone models are updated rapidly, the exception for current models could last only a limited time, said Rebecca Arbogast, an analyst at investment bank Stifel, Nicolaus & Co.
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