Huawei Opens R&D Office in Italy

Huawei has announced plans to sign an agreement with Telecom Italia to work together to develop mobile network applications in a Mobile Innovation Centre (MIC) in Turin, Italy. The MIC will provide testing, roadmap development and product optimisation based on Telecom Italia's needs.

Huawei says that setting up the R&D center will help it benefit from proximity to its customer and a greater understanding of its needs.

Welcoming the sign of deepened collaboration between both companies, Mr Patrick Wen, President of Huawei Western Europe Region, said: "We are immensely proud of the establishment of the MIC as it will enable us to deliver continuous innovation based on Telecom Italia's requirements. As the first Mobile Innovation Centre that has been established with an operator, we are very excited to see what fruits the MIC will bear. I believe this means of collaboration will pave the way for an even closer partnership with Telecom Italia. Laboratory development in isolation is no longer enough - close customer collaboration is critical for any telecommunications equipment provider."

The centre's first project will be Radio Technology Evolution beyond HSPA (High Speed Packet Access).

Posted to the site on 18th November 2007