“Abusive monopolist”
In its statement announcing a fine of over a billion euros against Intel, the European Commission revealed that the investigation was prompted by a series of complaints from rival chip maker AMD, dating as far back as 2000.
It comes as no great surprise, then, that AMD is pleased with the verdict reached today. Although its response is somewhat muted so far.
"The EU decision will shift the power from an abusive monopolist to computer makers, retailers and above all consumers," said Giuliano Meroni, president of AMD EMEA.
This is by no means a foregone conclusion, however, as Intel has already vowed to appeal the verdict. But it should definitely affect Intel's business practices, in Europe at least, and put AMD in a stronger position to object in future.
UPDATE - 14:40 13 May 2009
A couple more senior execs at AMD have issued statements:
"Today's ruling is an important step toward establishing a truly competitive market," said Dirk Meyer, AMD president and CEO. "AMD has consistently been a technology innovation leader and we are looking forward to the move from a world in which Intel ruled, to one which is ruled by customers."
"After an exhaustive investigation, the EU came to one conclusion - Intel broke the law and consumers were hurt," said Tom McCoy, AMD executive VP for legal affairs. "With this ruling, the industry will benefit from an end to Intel's monopoly-inflated pricing and European consumers will enjoy greater choice, value and innovation."
