BANGALORE, India — UbiNetics, the British wireless communications developer, said it is establishing a development center in Bangalore, India, that will focus on third-generation (3G) wireless products.
The Melbourn, England, company said it plans to invest about $15 million in the center, which will employ 200 engineers by the end of the year. The center will focus on wireless products based on the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) specification, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and Universal Mobile Telecommunications Systems (UMTS).
Company officials said the center should complete a full UMTS single-mode protocol stack by the end of the year. Next, it will work on development of a GSM/GPRS access layer and a multimode stack that will handle all three protocols.
UbiNetics, a spin-off of the wireless division of PA Consulting Group, said the Bangalore center would be the second-largest product development center after its Cambridge, England, facility.
The company has other design centers in Hong Kong and Tokyo.
The British company joins Dallas-based Texas Instruments Inc. in establishing an Indian 3G wireless development center. A 4G proof-of-concept center has also been established here as wireless developers seek to tap the programming expertise that can be found here.
Bjorn Krylander, UbiNetics' chief operating officer, said the Bangalore center's goal for 2001 is to generate "more than 100 patentable ideas in the mobile communication domain and rewarding the people behind approved patents with a share of the wealth created."
The wireless center will attempt to redefine products like handheld devices while extending the reach of mobile communication and next-generation wireless technologies, said Venugopal Potti, country manager for UbiNetics India. Worldwide, UbiNetics said it plans to invest nearly $150 million in second- and third-generation wireless technologies over the next two years.
Along with test mobile platforms for UMTS, the company is developing a cell simulator, or Node B emulator, for UMTS. It is also developing data products for the mass market, including a GSM PCMCIA Type II card and embedded modules for integration into other PC and PDA products.
UbiNetics is forecasting 2001 revenue of about $70 million and expects to generate a profit during 2002.
