Verizon has been directed by a federal jury in East Texas to compensate General Access Solutions a total of $847 million for allegedly infringing upon 5G and hotspot patents owned by the latter, according to The Register.

The jury’s decision comprises a $583 million “reasonable royalty” for infringing US Patent No. 7,230,931 (the ‘931 patent) and an additional $264 million for infringing Patent No. 9,426,794 (‘794), as outlined in the court’s ruling last week.

General Access, which acquired the patents from original inventor Raze Technologies, asserted that portions of Verizon’s 5G wireless networks, smartphone hotspots, wireless home routers, and MiFi devices violate its intellectual property. Both patents were originally filed in 2001.

Verizon had argued that the patents were invalid due to insufficient written description and/or incomplete enablement, but the jury sided against this defense.

In its initial complaint, General Access claimed that Verizon’s base station equipment infringed its ‘931 patent, while its wireless devices utilizing 4G and 5G cell signals infringed its ‘794 patent when routing information via 802.11 WiFi communications protocols.

But not many agree with the verdict. Swedish telecommunications vendor, Ericsson expressed strong disagreement with the outcome and pledged support for any challenge Verizon may pursue. Verizon and Ericsson previously partnered on Verizon’s 5G feature to improve user experience.