AT&T Takes Broadcom To Court Over VMware Support Standoff

AT&T has filed a lawsuit against Broadcom in New York State’s Supreme Court, accusing the chipmaker of reneging on a critical support agreement for VMware software used across its vast network. 

The US telecom giant alleged that Broadcom is refusing to honor a two-year extension of support services, despite AT&T exercising its contractual option to do so. AT&T claimed that Broadcom is instead pressuring the company to purchase expensive software bundles and subscriptions that it neither wants nor requires.

According to the lawsuit, AT&T holds perpetual licenses for VMware products and had previously secured a support contract set to expire on 8 September. However, the dispute arose when Broadcom allegedly demanded AT&T agree to purchase bundles that include VMware’s Cloud Foundation, an integrated package of compute, storage and network virtualisation products. 

AT&T asserted that these additional services would impose significant costs and technological demands, requiring potentially millions in network upgrades and risking violations of third-party agreements. The telecom firm also mentioned that the cost of the bundles would far exceed what it initially agreed to pay for support alone.

In its legal filing, AT&T described Broadcom’s demands as an attempt to “extort” the company, accusing the chipmaker of seeking a “king’s ransom” for services that are unnecessary. AT&T insists that it only requires continued support for the VMware software it already uses, and not the costly subscriptions that Broadcom is pushing.

AT&T’s complaint raises serious concerns about the potential national security implications of Broadcom’s refusal to extend support. The lawsuit claims that some of the 8,600 servers hosting AT&T’s 75,000 virtual machines are critical to national security, serving agencies within the federal government and the Office of the President. Other systems are used by emergency responders and support millions of AT&T customers worldwide. Without ongoing support from Broadcom, AT&T warned that network outages could cripple operations, disrupting services relied upon by public safety agencies and millions of customers.