Five Industry Groups Urge EU to Act Swiftly Against Broadcom

The dispute over VMware pricing is escalating. What began as a complaint from a single cloud industry association has now grown into a coordinated effort by five organizations calling on the European Commission to take immediate action against Broadcom.

The conflict centers on Broadcom’s overhaul of VMware’s partner program for cloud providers. The semiconductor company acquired the virtualization specialist in 2023. Since then, cloud providers have reported steep price increases and claim that thousands of partners have effectively lost access to sell or use VMware products.

From a Single Complaint to a United Industry Front

The campaign was initially launched by CISPE (Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe), an organization with nearly 50 members that also includes Microsoft and Amazon through affiliated partnerships. In March, CISPE independently requested interim measures from the European Commission against Broadcom. As a result, the Commission questioned the company about its revised VMware licensing terms.

Now, Reuters reports that CISPE has gained significant support. Belgium’s Beltug, France’s Cigref, Germany’s VOICE association, and CIO Platform Nederland have joined the initiative. In a joint letter dated July 10 and addressed to European Commission Executive Vice President Teresa Ribera, responsible for competition policy, and Commissioner Henna Virkkunen, responsible for digital policy, the five organizations urge Brussels to take decisive action and impose immediate interim measures.

Specifically, they are calling for a transition period of at least three years. According to the organizations, this would give affected providers time to adapt while the European Commission continues its formal antitrust investigation into Broadcom.

Broadcom Rejects the Allegations

Broadcom disputes the claims. The company argues that CISPE is funded by major hyperscale cloud providers and therefore presents a distorted view of the market. A company spokesperson said Broadcom remains committed to making substantial investments in its European VMware cloud service partners, providing them with viable alternatives to hyperscalers while meeting the needs of European businesses.

The European Commission has confirmed receipt of the letter but has not yet issued a substantive response.

(lb)