EC likely to file fresh anti-trust charges against Intel

Mumbai: The European Commission is expected to slap new antitrust charges against Intel Corporation, expanding a probe into the chipmaker's marketing and sales practices, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people close to the developments.

The new charges could include inducements offered to major European retailers not to sell computers that use chips from smaller rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc, the report said.

Intel, the world's top chip maker, is under probe in the European Union on charges of selling chips below cost and offering customers huge rebates in an illegal attempt to drive AMD out of the $280 billion chip market.

AMD had filed its own lawsuit against Intel in 2005, accusing it of abusing its market dominance. Intel's microprocessors power over 80 per cent of the world's PCs.

Intel, meanwhile, is also facing regulatory probe in the US where the Federal Trade Commission started regular investigations against the company. The New York state attorney general opened a formal probe of Intel in January to determine if it broke state antitrust laws by trying to squeeze out AMD.

Intel also faced anti-trust charges in Japan in 2005, but avoided a trial after it accepted the recommendations of the trade commission.

The Korea Fair Trade Commission in Seoul also had imposed a fine of $25.6 million on Intel for abusing local market dominance. Intel, however, said it would appeal.