San Francisco, Jul 23 (IANS): Apple which is looking to buy Intel's modem division since last year is reportedly in "advanced stage" to strike a deal for $1 billion.

It was reported last month that the Cupertino-based iPhone maker is in talks to buy part of Intel's modem business.

The latest report in Wall Street Journal details that an agreement "could be reached in the next week" if the talks don't fall apart, reports TechCrunch.

Apple has been working on its own chips for quite some time. Acquiring Intel's technology could help the iPhone maker accelerate its plans.

Intel on April 16 said it plans to cease working on modems for 5G, the next-generation of wireless technology expected to supercharge mobile connections.

Intel confirmed that the "surprise" settlement between Qualcomm and Apple - once pitted against each other over patent violation issues -- pushed it to exit the mobile 5G race.

"In light of the announcement of Apple and Qualcomm, we assessed the prospects for us to make money while delivering this technology for smartphones and concluded at the time that we just did not see a path," said Bob Swan, Intel CEO.

Apple may have paid chip-maker Qualcomm somewhere between $5 billion-$6 billion for an agreement to dismiss all ongoing litigations, including those with Apple's contract manufacturers.

Intel had been working on a chipset for the iPhone maker, with the chip expected to be part of iPhones by 2020.