Another investigation against Intel
According to a Japanese side, the Fair Market Competition Commission said Intel had unfairly cut prices for its products to oust its main opponent.
As Intel Corporation has not yet decided whether to appeal the result, we cannot consider the case closed for the time being. Based on the study, the semiconductor manufacturer introduces three methods to keep computer manufacturers away from AMD.
The provision of "special prices" does not seem too surprising, it is even more so that some cash allowances are recorded as "development costs" by the manufacturer. In addition, according to the legal regulations, individual price reductions cannot be implemented arbitrarily, everything is governed by strict rules.
Some say the world's largest semiconductor maker will certainly appeal, but then it could be forced to reveal details of its dubious "deals" with all the manufacturers.
Some companies have revealed that in the UK - and many other places around the world - Intel processors are still specifically mentioned in specifications in public tenders, not microprocessors in general. Meanwhile, AMD, which is most involved in the issue, is trying to persuade the governments of many countries not to include a reference to Intel or Pentium in these public tenders.
One thing is certain: in the long run, it is in the interest of us, the buyers, to maintain healthy price competition, even if we have to give up some occasional price reductions in return.
