US wireless giant Motorola
yesterday opened an innovation centre in Hunan Province, as part of its drive to
increase research and development (R&D) in China.
The Hunan Innovation Centre, in provincial capital Changsha, will focus on
developing wireless applications to drive innovation in China's dynamic telecom
sector.
The inauguration of the centre marks a further step in Motorola's R&D
strategy, one of the most aggressive multinational drives to transfer R&D to
China.
Since 1993 when Motorola launched its first R&D centre in the country,
the firm has established about 20 similar centres.
Motorola has pumped more than US$600 million into the centres and employs
about 3,000 R&D staff, according to Ruey-Bin Kao, president of Motorola
China.
The Motorola China Research and Development Institute, opened in 1999, has
grown into the largest single R&D facility ever established by a
multinational corporation in China.
Unlike other established R&D facilities dedicated to technology
development, the Hunan Innovation Centre will focus on developing enterprise
platforms and mobile applications, also known as data services or value-added
services, which are gaining increasing track in China.
"We see enormous opportunities in data services," said Kao.
"All the participants in the mobile telecom industry stand to benefit from
the development of wireless technologies and innovative mobile applications."
Data services such as SMS (short messaging service) and ringtone downloads
have been on a roll in China, boosting profits not only for operators but also
content providers and wireless value-added service providers such as
NASDAQ-listed Sohu.com and Sina Corp.
According to the Ministry of Information Industry, Chinese mobile phone users
last year sent a total of 304.65 billion SMS messages.
And by June this year, China had 431.8 million mobile phone subscribers.
In the first half of the year value-added services contributed 22.6 per cent
of the operating revenue for Hong Kong-listed China Mobile Ltd, the country's
dominant cellular operator.
"The Hunan Innovation Centre will help drive the development of the next
generation of mobile applications by making the most of Motorola's ability to
work with the entire industry, including operators, service providers,
application developers and end users," said Kao.
An increasing focus on developing wireless applications is expected to help
Motorola cash in on the opportunities brought by the roll-out of 3G (third
generation) mobile telecom services in China.
3G offers video calls, faster data downloading and faster access to the
Internet through mobile phones, and could help operators spur revenue growth.
In April 2005 Motorola launched a 3G R&D centre in Beijing, followed in
March this year by another in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang
Province, focusing on network technologies.
In July, Motorola also joined with China's top telecom equipment maker Huawei
Technologies to open a joint R&D centre to develop 3G technology.
(China Daily 09/14/2006 page12)
(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)
