European regulators ordered chipmaker
Broadcom to change the way it does business
with key customers over competition concerns.
EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager
said her department had “strong
indications” that Broadcom is “engaging in
anticompetitive practices.”
Her office opened an investigation in June
into whether the world’s leading supplier of
chipsets for TV set-top boxes and modems
included terms of exclusivity in contracts with
six customers that violate competition rules.
The probe is not over but, in an effort to
more effectively police markets, Vestager is
demanding that the company change its ways
based on preliminary findings. That is meant to
get around the fact that investigations can last
for years, meaning any fix comes too late.
The company, which is based in San Jose,
California, said in a statement that it does
not believe that its contracts limit its
customers’ choices.
“We intend to appeal the Commission’s decision
to the European Courts and in the meantime
comply with the Commission’s order,” it said.