IBM Could Face Mainframe Antitrust Investigation in Europe

From PC World: Florida mainframe manufacturer T3 Technologies has filed a formal complaint against IBM with the European Union's antitrust authority, it said Tuesday. In its complaint, T3 accuses IBM of refusing to sell its mainframe operating system to customers wanting to run it on computers made by T3.

The company wants the Commission to investigate the prices IBM charges for its mainframe systems, saying that European mainframe buyers could save US$48 billion over 20 years if there was fair competition in the market

IBM was ordered by the U.S. Department of Justice to stop its tying of hardware and software sales in a landmark case half a century ago.

Since then, according to T3, IBM has taken a calculated series of actions to stop companies such as Amdahl, Hitachi, Comparex, PSI and T3 from selling IBM-compatible mainframes, giving IBM an exclusive lock on the mainframe market.

T3 warned last August that it was preparing to file the complaint with the European Commission's Directorate General of Competition, shortly after IBM acquired Platform Solutions Inc., putting an end to an antitrust case brought by PSI in which T3 had wanted to participate.

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