T-Mobile migrating tens of thousands of VMs off VMware amid lawsuit
▼ Summary
– T-Mobile is asking a New York court to rule that Broadcom must continue supporting its VMware perpetual licenses under contract.
– T-Mobile uses VMware software across approximately 303,140 CPU cores and is migrating off it, but faces technical challenges with over 1,000 applications.
– In 2023, T-Mobile bought perpetual VMware licenses with two years of support and an option for a third year, but after Broadcom acquired VMware, it stopped selling perpetual licenses.
– Broadcom refused to let T-Mobile extend support for a third year at $5,288,398.45, citing the end of all perpetual products.
– A judge granted T-Mobile an injunction for support from October 2025 to August 2026 for $5.28 million, and T-Mobile now seeks a declaration it was entitled to renew support.
T-Mobile has taken legal action against Broadcom in a New York court, arguing that the chipmaker was contractually bound to continue supporting its VMware perpetual licenses after the acquisition. The mobile giant is seeking a judicial ruling that Broadcom violated its agreement by refusing to extend support for a third year.
According to the complaint, filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York in August 2025, T-Mobile operates tens of thousands of virtual machines running on VMware software, spread across approximately 303,140 CPU cores. The company acknowledged it is in the process of migrating off VMware, but described the effort as time-consuming and technically complex, involving the relocation of over 1,000 applications.
The dispute stems from a 2023 agreement, in which T-Mobile purchased perpetual VMware licenses along with two years of support, with an option to buy a third year. However, after Broadcom completed its acquisition of VMware, it discontinued sales of perpetual licenses in favor of subscription-based models and began bundling VMware products into fewer, more expensive packages.
When T-Mobile attempted to exercise its option for a third year of support at a cost of $5,288,398.45, Broadcom refused. In an email cited in the court filing, a Broadcom representative stated: “Broadcom announced end of available of all perpetual products, which includes Stated Out Year Renewals for perpetual support.”
A judge has since granted T-Mobile an injunction, allowing the company to receive support services from October 2025 through August 3, 2026, in exchange for the $5.28 million fee plus a $500,000 undertaking. Now, T-Mobile is asking the court to declare that it was entitled to renew support services under the original terms, and to provide any further relief deemed appropriate.
(Source: Ars Technica)
