ID card chip makers Infineon, Philips, Samsung fined by EU Commission

Wondering why only selected few semiconductor vendors dominating the security id chip market? The leading companies in this market must be having best technologies, but there is also another factor. Well, European commission finds a group of ID card semiconductor vendors co-ordinated their market behaviour, kind of a cartel. The companies found by European Commission includes leading industrial and power semiconductor maker Infineon, Philips (which has divested its semiconductor business into another company named NXP Semiconductors), world's 2nd ranked semiconductor vendor Samsung and world's top microcontroller chip vendor Renesas. The EU said these companies coordinated their market behaviour for smart card chips in the European Economic Area (EEA), in breach of EU rules that prohibit cartels. The total fine imposed on these companies is € 138 048 000. The release from EU Commission says "The companies colluded through bilateral contacts that took place in the period between September 2003 and September 2005." However Renesas is saved from fining for revealing the existence of the cartel to the Commission. "In this digital era smart card chips are used by almost everybody, whether in their mobile phones, bank cards or passports. It is crucial that the companies producing them focus their efforts on how to outperform their competitors by innovating and providing t...