A group of technology companies supporting European charges
of monopoly abuse against Microsoft have accused the software firm
of understating its share of the browser market.
European anti-monopoly authorities have charged Microsoft with
harming browser competition by illegally bundling its Internet
Explorer with its Windows operating system.
The charges follow and investigation of a
complaint by Norwegian browser developer Opera Software that
other browsers cannot compete with IE because of its bundling with
Windows.
The
European Committee for Interoperable Systems(ECIS) technology
industry group led by IBM, Nokia and Oracle has accused Microsoft
of trying to downplay the extent to which it has harmed
competition, according to the
Financial Times.
The ECIS
through its weight behind the case in April.
Microsoft claims its share of the European browser market has
fallen 30% in the past four year and that competing browsers have
picked up significant shares, proving strong competition.
But ECIS maintains that the way in which these figures are
calculated skews the results towards more active and sophisticated
users, increasing the likelihood that alternative browsers will be
used.
It also contends that even if Microsoft's figures are correct,
the software firm is still abusing a dominant position in the
operating system market.
Microsoft filed a defence in April and requested an oral
hearing, but then announced it would not attend the hearing.
Microsoft said it had pulled out of the hearings set for 3-5
June in Brussels because important European antitrust officials
would be unable to attend.
The US software company claimed it had asked the European
Commission for alternative dates, but none had been offered.
If Microsoft fails to appear, the European Union competition
commissioner Neelie Kroes is free to go ahead to make a ruling on
the case, which is expected in the next six months.