January 11, 2008
New York's Intel probe may start new IT antitrust battle
Do you like this story?
Intel already has been facing probes of its microprocessor business practices in Europe, Japan and South Korea. But the company hadn't been the subject of any investigations in the U.S. until New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced that his office had issued a subpoena seeking business records and information related to the chip maker's pricing policies and possible attempts to quash competitors through the use of its market power.
In a statement, Cuomo outlined reasons for carrying out the probe that are reminiscent of the concerns raised about Microsoft at the onset of that case in 1998. A key issue then was Microsoft's power over PC vendors because of its desktop operating systems monopoly. Among the issues that Cuomo said his office will look at are allegations that Intel penalized computer makers for purchasing x86 processors from its rivals and that it paid chip customers in return for exclusive sourcing deals.
"This is the hardware half of the Wintel monopoly," said Robert Lande, an antitrust professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law. "In many ways, it's even more significant [than the operating system side] because entry is more difficult into the chip market."
An Intel spokesman confirmed that the company received the subpoena and said the chipmaker intends to "work very hard to comply with the request. We believe our business practices are lawful, and we believe the microprocessor market is competitive," he said.
Read full news here
In a statement, Cuomo outlined reasons for carrying out the probe that are reminiscent of the concerns raised about Microsoft at the onset of that case in 1998. A key issue then was Microsoft's power over PC vendors because of its desktop operating systems monopoly. Among the issues that Cuomo said his office will look at are allegations that Intel penalized computer makers for purchasing x86 processors from its rivals and that it paid chip customers in return for exclusive sourcing deals.
"This is the hardware half of the Wintel monopoly," said Robert Lande, an antitrust professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law. "In many ways, it's even more significant [than the operating system side] because entry is more difficult into the chip market."
An Intel spokesman confirmed that the company received the subpoena and said the chipmaker intends to "work very hard to comply with the request. We believe our business practices are lawful, and we believe the microprocessor market is competitive," he said.
Read full news here
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 Responses to “New York's Intel probe may start new IT antitrust battle”
Post a Comment