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T-Mobile moves VMs off VMware while suing Broadcom over perpetual-license support

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5 hours ago

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Key Points

T-Mobile is migrating VMware virtual machines off VMware while continuing litigation against Broadcom.
The dispute centers on T-Mobile’s rights to extended support linked to perpetual-license terms from an August 2023 deal.
Reports describe T-Mobile’s VMware deployment as very large, with filings citing execution across more than 300,000 CPU cores.
Broadcom argues it cannot support covered products because the relevant offerings no longer exist or are no longer supported under contract terms.
A court order requires Broadcom to provide support beyond an initial support arrangement expiration, while T-Mobile makes payments and posts an undertaking.

T-Mobile is in the process of migrating large parts of its VMware environment to other platforms as it continues a legal dispute with Broadcom over software support rights tied to perpetual licenses. Multiple reports describe T-Mobile as having a substantial VMware footprint, with filings stating it runs VMware software across more than 300,000 CPU cores. The conflict stems from T-Mobile’s August 2023 agreement for perpetual licenses and support, which Broadcom later changed after acquiring VMware.

According to the reports, Broadcom stopped selling perpetual licenses and standalone support for customers holding those licenses and shifted VMware offerings toward subscription-based products. Customers including AT&T and Tesco are mentioned in connection with extended-support efforts, and Tesco is described as pursuing similar claims in court. In the T-Mobile case, Broadcom argues it cannot provide support for products it says are no longer available or that contractual terms allow it to deny support for “dead” products.

The reports say T-Mobile sought an injunction to require extended support and that a court ordered Broadcom to continue support beyond an expiring arrangement while T-Mobile pays required amounts. T-Mobile has also tried to negotiate further support terms, while simultaneously moving tens of thousands of virtual machines off VMware, according to Ars Technica and other coverage.

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SLA

Slashdot

T-Mobile Appears To Be Quitting VMware Amid Support Rights Lawsuit With Broadcom

T-Mobile appears to be migrating its 303,000-core VMware environment to another platform while fighting Broadcom in court for the extended support it says its perpetual-license agreement guarantees. "The matter is somewhat urgent," The Register reports, because a court-ordered support arrangement expires August 3, "so T-Mobile may soon be unable to get support for its very substantial VMware estate." The Register reports: The dispute relates to a deal T-Mobile struck with VMware in August 2023, which saw the telco acquire perpetual licenses and two years of support for some software, plus the option for a further year of support. When Broadcom acquired VMware in 2023, it stopped selling perpetual licenses and standalone support deals for customers with those licenses. Broadcom also reduced the virtualization giant's product range from over 150 products to two subscription-only bundles. Broadcom now mostly sells its Cloud Foundation (VCF) private cloud suite. Customers including AT&T and Tesco tried to exercise their right to extended support, but Broadcom declined to do so. AT&T settled on confidential terms. Tesco is pursuing the matter in the courts. When customers exercise their option for extended support, Broadcom argues it can't deliver because the products covered by the contract don't exist anymore, its contracts allow it to deny support for dead products, and subscriptions are now the industry standard. T-Mobile started using VMware's products in 2008. In one hearing, the carrier's counsel described T-Mobile's VMware implementation as "the base of the entire internal network" and "the place where 1,000 applications reside." Another filing, from Broadcom, says the telco runs VMware software on over 303,000 CPU cores. Court documents allege that in 2024 Broadcom notified T-Mobile it would not renew support after the initial two-year deal expired in 2025. The two parties kept talking about possible new arrangements. T-Mobile also sought an injunction that would compel Broadcom to provide extended support. Broadcom opposed the injunction, arguing that T-Mobile deliberately waited too long to seek it. At one point T-Mobile suggested a $20 million deal for another two years of support. An affirmation filed last week by T-Mobile vice president of technology Kevin Luu says the carrier sought that arrangement "to be able to complete T-Mobile's transition away from VMware at a more deliberate pace." The court eventually granted the injunction forcing Broadcom to offer support beyond August 2025, but required T-Mobile to pay $5.28 million and post a $500,000 undertaking. Broadcom continued to provide support but also sought damages on grounds that the injunction meant it missed out on a new deal with T-Mobile. The telco has rubbished that argument in part because the two parties were still talking about a new deal. Broadcom later proposed to charge $24 million for extended support covering six products, a sum it said would cover over 20 staff needed to support T-Mobile. The carrier fired back by pointing out that it has made just two support calls in 2026, which hardly justifies such a massive staff and expense. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

4 hours ago

ARS

Ars Technica

T-Mobile moving tens of thousands of virtual machines off VMware amid lawsuit

T-Mobile wants Broadcom to keep supporting its VMware perpetual licenses.

6 hours ago