T-Mobile sues Broadcom over VMware perpetual license support
Original: T-Mobile moving tens of thousands of virtual machines off VMware amid lawsuit
Why This Matters
Reflects growing tensions between enterprise customers and vendors over subscription transition policies affecting infrastructure operations.
T-Mobile filed a lawsuit against Broadcom in New York seeking continued support for tens of thousands of VMware virtual machines using perpetual licenses. The company runs over 303,140 CPU cores on VMware and claims Broadcom breached its contract by refusing to renew three-year support for $5.28 million after acquiring VMware.
T-Mobile filed a complaint in New York Supreme Court in August 2025 alleging that Broadcom was contractually obligated to continue supporting its VMware perpetual licenses purchased in 2023, which included two years of support with an option for a third year. The company operates approximately 303,140 CPU cores running tens of thousands of virtual machines on VMware software. When T-Mobile attempted to extend support for a third year at a cost of $5,288,398.45, Broadcom refused, citing its announcement of the end-of-life for all perpetual products including perpetual support renewals. After Broadcom acquired VMware, it discontinued perpetual license sales in favor of subscription-based models and bundled VMware products into more expensive packages. A judge granted T-Mobile a temporary injunction allowing support services from October 2025 through August 3, 2026, for $5.28 million plus a $500,000 undertaking. T-Mobile has migrated over 1,000 applications and cited litigation costs and security risks as justification for seeking an alternative deal worth up to $20 million for two years of updates and support. Broadcom responded that it has spent $24 million providing support for six VMware products with three dedicated account managers, though T-Mobile stated it uses only three of those products and opened just two service cases in the past year. Similar disputes occurred with AT&T (settled privately) and ongoing litigation with Tesco.