Telecom giant Ericsson yesterday inaugurated its Guangzhou mobile data application technology research and development (R&D) center.

Involving an initial phase investment of US$15 million, the Ericsson Mobile Data Applications Technology R&D (Guangzhou) Company Ltd will focus on developing customized service layer solutions for its operators in Guangdong Province and throughout China.

The service layer platform, which Ericsson's new R&D facility in Guangzhou will offer for the Chinese market, will be the first of its kind in the telecoms industry.

"The service layer platform and the development of applications will be the priority and is a big challenge for a telecom industry facing the arrival of 3G technology," noted Mats H Olsson, president of Ericsson Greater China. "The new R&D center stands precisely for the platform and application development."

"Ericsson has set up the mobile data application technology R&D facility in Guangzhou for at least two good reasons," he said in an interview yesterday.

Firstly, the facility will enable Ericsson to work closely with its customers in Guangdong as well as in the rest of China.

Secondly, the customers in Guangdong always enjoy the vanguard position in the application of state-of-the-art telecoms technologies.

In the eyes of the president, China is one of the largest and most dynamic telecoms markets in the world and the province of Guangdong is one of the largest and most dynamic telecoms markets in China.

He said that the revenue generated in the Guangdong market contributes crucially to the total business of Ericsson China. Ericsson has also forged very good business ties with both China Mobile and China Unicom's Guangdong branches, Olsson added.

It is reported that Ericsson recently signed contracts with China Mobile's Guangdong branch to supply US$800 million worth of equipment for network expansion.

It has supplied the majority of technological solutions for China Mobile's Guangdong branch since 1983 when it supplied the then Guangdong Post and Telecom Administration with the first Ericsson AXE digital switching system.

He said that the facility will work closely with the local software industry and universities to promote the development of 3G applications in China.

According to Dan Redin, vice-president and chief technology officer of Ericsson Greater China, Ericsson's Guangzhou R&D facility is an integral part of Ericsson's R&D network in China.

Redin said Ericsson's capital input for R&D in China has maintained a growth rate of over 30 percent year-on-year in the past five years with the growth rate this year expected to surpass 50 percent.

He did not disclose the exact figure of capital input in the sector.

Ericsson has set up R&D facilities in several cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Qingdao and Chengdu.

(China Daily May 10, 2005)