virtualization
303,000 cores that power internal networks headed out the door
Telco giant T-Mobile appears to be transitioning away from VMware and fighting a court battle for support it says Broadcom is bound to provide, according to court documents seen by The Register.The dispute relates to a deal T-Mobile struck with VMware in August 2023, which saw the telco acquire perpetual licenses and two years of support for some software, plus the option for a further year of support.When Broadcom acquired VMware in 2023, it stopped selling perpetual licenses and standalone support deals for customers with those licenses. Broadcom also reduced the virtualization giant’s product range from over 150 products to two subscription-only bundles. Broadcom now mostly sells its Cloud Foundation (VCF) private cloud suite.
Customers including AT&T and Tesco tried to exercise their right to extended support, but Broadcom declined to do so. AT&T settled on confidential terms. Tesco is pursuing the matter in the courts.
When customers exercise their option for extended support, Broadcom argues it can’t deliver because the products covered by the contract don’t exist anymore, its contracts allow it to deny support for dead products, and subscriptions are now the industry standard.T-Mobile started using VMware’s products in 2008 and, per court documents, runs it on at least 303,000 CPU cores. In one hearing, the carrier’s counsel described T-Mobile’s VMware implementation as “the base of the entire internal network” and “the place where 1,000 applications reside.”Court documents allege that in 2024 Broadcom notified T-Mobile it would not renew support after the initial two-year deal expired in 2025. The two parties kept talking about possible new arrangements. T-Mobile also sought an injunction that would compel Broadcom to provide extended support.Broadcom opposed the injunction, arguing that T-Mobile deliberately waited too long to seek it.At one point T-Mobile suggested a $20 million deal for another two years of support. An affirmation filed last week by T-Mobile vice president of technology Kevin Luu says the carrier sought that arrangement “to be able to complete T-Mobile’s transition away from VMware at a more deliberate pace.”
