AT&T Sues Broadcom over VMware Contracts 'Bullying'
AT&T has sued Broadcom for allegedly breaching contracts related to VMware, claiming Broadcom is using coercive tactics to force unwanted purchases, which could threaten critical services and national security.
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AT&T has filed a lawsuit against Broadcom in New York, claiming that the chipmaker is attempting to breach its contracts related to VMware. The lawsuit, filed on August 29, alleges that Broadcom is threatening to withhold essential support services for VMware software unless AT&T agrees to purchase additional subscription services worth hundreds of millions of dollars, which AT&T does not want. AT&T argues that this behavior constitutes "bullying" and could jeopardize critical services for first responders and national security. The lawsuit comes as Broadcom's obligation to provide support services is set to expire on September 8, and AT&T is exercising its right to renew these services for an additional year. However, Broadcom is reportedly refusing to honor this renewal. AT&T emphasizes that if Broadcom fails to provide support, it could have disastrous consequences for its operations and the public, as AT&T relies on VMware software for services to millions of customers. Broadcom has responded, asserting that it disagrees with AT&T's claims and is confident in its legal position. The New York Supreme Court has instructed Broadcom to respond to the complaint within 20 days.
- AT&T is suing Broadcom over alleged contract breaches related to VMware.
- The lawsuit claims Broadcom is using "bullying" tactics to force AT&T into purchasing unwanted services.
- AT&T warns that failure to provide support could endanger critical services for first responders and national security.
- Broadcom has stated it disagrees with AT&T's allegations and is confident in its legal stance.
- The court has mandated a response from Broadcom within 20 days of the filing.
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9 commentsIf AT&T's software support contracts can put critical government services and national security at risk then either the government needs to abandon its use of AT&T as soon as possible to prevent that possibility, or if that is impossible, then AT&T is itself a risk to national security and they should be taken over by the government and operated as the critical government service that it is.
Iv used proxmox way more than VMware so I might be hazy on the details of what I remember.
Proxmox, I wish had a desktop application for doing what the web browser UI does but is more clean like the workstations and iirc vsphere application.
Might be mixing some names up cuz its been a while since iv used anything other that workstation on uni's labs.
> AT&T is exercising that option for at least one more year
> it would “take years” for AT&T to “devise alternative solutions” to its reliance on VMware.
If it will "take years", then it seems like a last-minute 1-year extension is pointless, other than saving AT&T some licensing fees, which is all this is really about IMO.
I find it extremely hard to have any sympathy for AT&T over "vendor lock-in" (aka signing short-term contracts for a single-source products and making their business critically depend on it).
Don't view this through the lens of the common person or small business who absolutely do need particular protections and consideration under the law. That's because people have an extreme disadvantage in negotiating power in many markets, and don't have millions of dollars to spend on lawyers and analysts.
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