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"We're innocent" - but Intel "must stop illegal market practices" says EU

Intel seems unimpressed. It is the biggest ever fine levied on misbehaving corporations by the European Commission on competition: €1.06bn (£951m) for "illegal anticompetitive practices to exclude competitors from the market for computer chips." But to Intel corporate, it's not anything Intel has done: it's "regulators testing limits."

Antitrust regulators around the world, led chiefly by the European Commission, are testing the limits of the law in their pursuit of Intel and its practice of offering rebates to computer manufacturers and IT retailers, was the quote by Paul Meller, from Intel Senior Vice President Bruce Sewell, today.

Meller reckons the situation is clear to competition commissioner Neelie Kroes who said "It is a very clear cut case of abuse of a dominant position. I can't imagine it's unclear what has to stop." But then he quotes Intel's Sewell as saying it is very unclear: "I am mystified as to what it is we are being asked to change," he said.

And Peppi Kiviniemi reports that Intel will challenge the decision as being "baseless". This is because Intel and the Commission contradict each other: "We discount the price of the products, based on volumes bought, we do not require them to buy exclusively from Intel," Sewell said - but the commission's findings said it had evidence Intel had made rebates conditional on a manufacturer to exclusively, or near exclusively to buy Intel chips.

"The commission said it has proof Intel gave payments to manufacturers as a reward for postponing the launches of specific computers using AMD chips," reported Kiviniemi.