New EV-DO phone models coming to the US could be halted

Potential 3G buyers beware, the International Trade Commission imposed a ban on all Qualcomm-powered phones and if President Bush signs it, we could see a shortage of 3G handsets.  Why?  Apparently chipset manufacturers Broadcom and Qualcomm have been bickering over a patent that Broadcom claims Qualcomm is infringing.

The main problem for US consumers would be a lack of EV-DO, as Qualcomm is the primary manufacturer (Broadcom only makes UMTS / HSDPA solutions.)

We're sure this ruling is just a bump on the road to more argument, as Qualcomm is seeking both an injunction and a presidential veto on the ban.  If the ban were to go through, it would mean any handset with EV-DO couldn't be imported into the United States, and we're pretty sure Verizon, Sprint and any MVNO's using EV-DO handsets will be a tad ticked (except Amp'd) and rally to Qualcomm's defense. The CTIA has already come out with a statement against the ban, saying, "today's decision by the International Trade Commission will cause enormous undue harm to tens of millions of American wireless consumers, and urges President Bush to veto the ITC importation ban."

Blech.  No matter who is truly right, US consumers probably will be the last party thought of.  Yuck.

UPDATE: Just to clarify, the ruling only applies to new models that will be released, and not to models being currently imported.  The shortage won't be of handsets currently gracing our shores, but more of a clamp on future models integrating the chips.

[Via EngadgetMobile]