The hearing has been halted indefinitely while the FTC's commissioners consider the proposed deal, which was worked out over the weekend.

"If approved by the Commission, the proposed settlement being recommended by [government lawyers] and Intel would resolve the allegations contained in the Commission's complaint issued on June 8," said William Baer, director of the FTC's Bureau of Competition. "There are remaining issues under investigation by the Commission. The Commission's staff is committed to working expeditiously to resolve those concerns."

A proposed consent decree submitted by FTC and Intel attorneys along with their motion to withdraw the antitrust case brings the hearing to a sudden and unexpected halt as the FTC commissioners consider the proposal. Lead FTC attorney Richard Parker is expected to submit the proposed settlement and accompanying explanatory materials to the Commission "within a matter of days," the FTC said.

Intel said it was pleased with the agreement. "We view this compromise agreement as a win-win for both parties and we are satisfied that the agreement gives us value for our intellectual property rights," said Craig Barrett, president of Intel (Santa Clara, Calif.). "This is acceptable to both parties."

Neither Intel nor the FTC gave any indication late last week that a settlement was in the works.

Intergraph Corp. (Huntsville, Ala.), one of three companies to claim injure due to Intel's alleged anti-competitive practices, said the proposed settlement between Intel and the FTC vindicates the antitrust claims it made in a separate case last year.

"While we have not seen the precise relief the FTC obtained in the decree, this settlement vindicates our antitrust claims and shows that the preliminary injunction in favor of Intergraph granted [last April] in the federal court of Alabama was based on sound antitrust principles," the company said in a statement.

Intergraph said it would continue to pursue its patent infringement case against Intel.

Intergraph said it hoped the proposed FTC-Intel settlement would "protect the interests of the industry and will ensure fair business practices by Intel in the future."

Compaq Computer Corp. and Digital Equipment Corp., now a Compaq subsidiary, were also included in the FTC's case against Intel.