Ericsson and Samsung today said they have agreed to cross-license each others 2G and 3G network technology, heading off any potential intellectual property showdown like that which has consumed Nokia and Qualcomm.

In a filing with South Korean regulators, Samsung revealed the deal and an agreement to drop any pending lawsuits the two companies have filed against one another.

Ericsson is the world’s largest maker of wireless networks, focusing primarily GSM and UMTS. Samsung, while a huge player in the handset arena, is still a small competitor in the wireless networks space, it’s biggest market being its homeland South Korea where it has built both CDMA and UMTS networks for local carriers.