In Pavlovian fashion, the sight of Broadcom and the FTC in a headline set our saliva glands surging. Unfortunately, our appetite for drama and carnage has been baited and switched, as Broadcom has already settled the monopolist charges with the US Fair Trade Commission (FTC) – and apparently suffered no consequences from its position. The first sight of the charges was on July 2nd, but Broadcom had settled just four days later. The initial charges were that Broadcom was abusing a monopoly position on semiconductor components for set tops and broadband CPE – threatening to withhold support if customers used other suppliers, or to increase prices, or cut off sales entirely. The charges dated back to 2016, where the FTC…