Key facts
- T-Mobile is suing Broadcom in New York Supreme Court over VMware perpetual license support.
- The company uses tens of thousands of virtual machines powered by VMware software.
- Broadcom ceased sales of VMware perpetual licenses after its acquisition, shifting to subscriptions.
- T-Mobile sought to extend support for its perpetual licenses, which Broadcom denied.
- A court-granted injunction provided T-Mobile with support services from October 2025 to August 2026.
- The case is similar to prior disputes Broadcom had with AT&T and Tesco over VMware support.
T-Mobile has initiated legal action against Broadcom, seeking a ruling that mandates continued support for its VMware perpetual licenses. The mobile carrier utilizes tens of thousands of virtual machines running on VMware software across approximately 303,140 CPU cores. The lawsuit, filed in August 2025 in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, stems from Broadcom's acquisition of VMware and subsequent discontinuation of perpetual licenses in favor of subscription models.
T-Mobile claims it purchased perpetual VMware licenses with an initial two-year support period, with an option for a third year. However, following Broadcom's acquisition, the company was reportedly denied the ability to extend support for a third year at a cost of over $5.28 million, with Broadcom citing the end of perpetual product availability. This led to an injunction granted by a judge, allowing T-Mobile to receive support services from October 2025 through August 3, 2026, for $5.28 million, plus a $500,000 undertaking.
In its pursuit of continued support, T-Mobile had previously offered $20 million for two years of software updates and services, citing the need to mitigate interruption and security risks to its network and business. Broadcom, in a recent filing, stated it had incurred $24 million in costs to provide T-Mobile with support for six VMware products and assign three dedicated support account managers. T-Mobile countered that it does not utilize three of the mentioned products and has only opened two service cases this year.
The dispute echoes similar cases Broadcom faced with AT&T, which was privately settled, and an ongoing case with Tesco. A Broadcom lawyer reportedly argued in an October 2025 hearing that T-Mobile is an outlier, as thousands of customers have already transitioned to subscription models.