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AMD Supports United Kingdom Move to Strengthen Competition in Technology Procurement
- British Office of Government Commerce (OGC) demands end to discrimination in technical specifications –
SUNNYVALE, CA -- August 16, 2005 --AMD welcomes the publication of an EU Procurement Guidance document by the United Kingdom’s Office of Government Commerce (OGC) intended to help contracting authorities develop tender documents that comply with EU rules on non-discrimination in public procurement (e.g. EU directive .93/36). This publication follows similar documents already issued by the French, Italian, Swedish, German, Belgian, Japanese and U.S governments.
“We fully support the UK initiative to bring more competition into technology procurement. The illegal use of either brand or specific product names reduces market competition, slows down the pace of innovation and may unnecessarily cost taxpayers money,” said Giuliano Meroni, corporate vice president, Sales and Marketing, for Europe, Middle East and Africa. “Fair and open competition in tenders for the technology industry directly benefits taxpayers and governments, ensuring authorities base their procurement decisions on getting the best technology at the best price.”
Due to a “number of recent EU infraction cases”, the OGC document stipulates specific rules for the tendering of computer hardware. These rules
demand that the “requirements for microprocessors must exclude any reference to brands (e.g., Intel, AMD), manufacturer-specific processor architectures, trademarks, technology-types or other potentially discriminatory descriptors.” Additionally, specifications must “exclude any reference to minimum processor clock-speeds” as well as a minimum Front Side Bus speed or minimum cache memory size as “such specifications do not directly relate to performance.”
Instead, the OCG requires procurement decisions to be based on a “minimum score on an independent benchmark test measuring microprocessor performance.”
The full text the EU Procurement Guidance issued by the OGC can be found here: http://www.ogc.gov.uk/index.asp?docid=405
AMD’s Position on Fair and Open Competition
AMD stands for fair and open competition and the value and variety competition delivers to consumers. Businesses and consumers should have the freedom to choose from a range of competitive products that come from continuous innovation on a level playing field where everybody plays by the same set of rules. When market forces work, consumers have choice and everyone wins.
About AMD
AMD (NYSE:AMD) designs and produces innovative microprocessors, Flash memory devices and low-power processor solutions for the computer, communications and consumer electronics industries. AMD is dedicated to delivering standards-based, customer-focused solutions for technology users, ranging from enterprises to government agencies and individual consumers. For more information visit www.amd.com.
AMD, the AMD Arrow logo and combinations thereof, are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Other names are for informational purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.
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