EC give Intel monster fine

[kalniel]

If you thought the Microsoft anti-competitive fine was bad, you ain't seen nothing..

Computer chipmaker Intel has been fined a record 1.06bn euros ($1.45bn; £948m) by the European Commission for anti-competitive practices.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8047546.stm

EDIT: hexus.channel article now up:
http://channel.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=18405

[pollaxe]

Blimey!

[Stringent]

Well thats going to appeal.

[kalniel]

Well thats going to appeal.

I wouldn't be so sure - the EC are more than happy to increase the fine over time if it's not paid and the practises changed. I can't remember the amount, but MS eventually had some kind of daily charge until they fixed it I think.

[mediaboy]

I use AMD.... I tend to forgt that they're so much smaller than Intel...

Interesting that there is someone watching the markets and finding the people driving the opposition out of business...

[bull3t4u]

About time...

[Yosh]

1 Billion from the 22 Billion a year made, i'm sure they can pay that quite easily out of pocket change.

[bull3t4u]

1 Billion from the 22 Billion a year made, i'm sure they can pay that quite easily out of pocket change.

5% is still quite a lot

[Olmy]

Intel got off easy. They could have been fined up to 10% of their annual revenue ($4bn last year). They've been using extremely anti-competitive business practices since at least 2001 (when AMD originally brought this to the EU Competition Commission's attention) to try and shove AMD out of the market. What they did was clearly illegal in the EU , and now they're also being investigated for the same practices in the US.

Keep in mind this was going on when AMD had the best processors available on the desktop. At the time Intel simply couldn't keep up with the technology, so they resorted to bribery, intimidation etc. Who knows where CPU technology would be now if AMD were given a fair chance - it's depressing to think about.

[MrSnaffles]

Intel got off easy. They could have been fined up to 10% of their annual revenue ($4bn last year). They've been using extremely anti-competitive business practices since at least 2001 (when AMD originally brought this to the EU Competition Commission's attention) to try and shove AMD out of the market. What they did was clearly illegal in the EU , and now they're also being investigated for the same practices in the US.

Keep in mind this was going on when AMD had the best processors available on the desktop. At the time Intel simply couldn't keep up with the technology, so they resorted to bribery, intimidation etc. Who knows where CPU technology would be now if AMD were given a fair chance - it's depressing to think about.

I still think that 5% of their revenue is enough - I think the EC would find it hard to try and justify taking even larger sums of money, particularly when the current climate is taken into consideration.

[Yosh]

5% is still quite a lot

5% of 1 Year is not a great deal of money for them, considering the money made during the period of using the said tactics.

[Kumagoro]

I wonder how AMD would be doing now if they had not had to contend with what intel did.
They would probably have had a lot more money coming in and so could have developed better
products.

Intel are still better off having done what they did and getting the fine.

[thejimbo]

Yeah should be 5% of income over the anti-competitive years