Alcatel has announced that it will inaugurate a new Research & Development Centre in Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan Province in Western China, by the end of 2005. Located inside the Chengdu High-Tech Park, an area dedicated to advanced IT and telecom technology development, the Centre will be managed by Alcatel Shanghai Bell, the company’s Chinese flagship company.
The Centre will undertake the development of world-class technologies and product concepts covering fixed and mobile communication areas. Initially, it will focus on advanced mobile technologies and solutions in the area of mobile Next Generation Networks and microwave transmission. Around 300 R&D engineers will be employed in this new facility.
In close collaboration with the existing Research and Innovation Centre at Alcatel Shanghai Bell’s headquarters in Shanghai, the Chengdu R&D centre will bring to market promising new technologies coming out of the company’s research and, in time, house the activities currently being carried out in the Optical Communication R&D Centre in the city.
Gerard Dega, president of Alcatel Shanghai Bell, commented, “With the new Centre, Alcatel Shanghai Bell will be able to quickly respond to changing market needs in China and deliver the most advanced technologies to our customers’ doorstep. The ready availability and abundance of research and engineering talent in China enables us to bring cutting-edge, cost-effective telecom technologies and solutions to our customers.”