Huawei has transferred its existing wireless R&D operations in Shanghai to a larger, more advanced facility that will focus on developing wireless system design, industry standards, software, hardware and algorithms. The new center, which will accommodate 8,000 employees of whom 90% are dedicated to R&D, reflects Huawei’s commitment to continue investing in developing next-generation wireless solutions that will help operators address business challenges associated with the rising demand for sophisticated mobile broadband services. The new US$340 million campus is a part of Huawei’s worldwide network of 17 R&D centers across North America, Europe, India and China.

Huawei projects that network traffic will grow by 75 times in the next 10 years, while mobile broadband traffic will grow by more than 2,000 times. User demands are becoming increasingly sophisticated and telecom operators need to move fast to ensure the technology they are providing are meeting those demands, while balancing cost and convergence issues. “This new innovation center will further strengthen our global R&D capabilities in LTE and other wireless technologies. It will ensure that Huawei is well-positioned to capture these significant growth opportunities by delivering cutting-edge solutions to our customers around the world,” said Wanghai Jie, Director of Shanghai R&D Center, Huawei.

The operational status of the new campus follows on the heels of Huawei’s deployment of the world’s first commercial TD-LTE/SAE trial network for China Mobile across the 5.28 sq km site of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. The network offers a downlink rate of 29 Mbps, which is 10 times faster than existing 3G networks, and is a demonstration of the advanced technologies that are being developed in such innovation centers as the one in Shanghai.

While leading the way to develop some of the world’s most cutting-edge telecoms technologies, the center also advocates ecological awareness and is aligned with Huawei’s commitment to environment sustainability. It features an ecological lake, pond, eco-swamp and an abundance of trees that are integrated with the production area, the dining hall and other facilities and a glass exterior that maximize the use of natural light to reduce energy consumption.

Located in Jinqiao modern technology park in the Pudong District and covering a land area of 277,000 sq meters, the R&D campus is one of the largest commercial buildings in Shanghai. The facility was designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM), one of the largest architectural firms in the world that also designed Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai, Burj Khalifa in Dubai and the Time Warner Center in New York City.

Huawei’s R&D center in Shanghai was established in 1996 and focuses on radio access networks and wireless terminal technologies including GSM, CDMA, WCDMA, TD-SCDMA, AIE, LTE and B3G/4G. The new facility is an expansion of those capabilities and includes an advanced wireless network R&D lab, a wireless terminal testing center, an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) simulation lab, a GNAC (global network analysis center), an EMC (electromagnetic compatibility) and environment lab, a data center and a technology showroom.

“As one of the most modern and thriving cities in China, Shanghai has long been a nurturing ground for some of the world’s brightest minds in telecommunications and it has an increasingly important role to play in the development of the global and regional ICT industry. This R&D center is a strategic move to enhance our wireless capabilities while incubating IT talent in Shanghai as it continues to grow to become a world-class telecommunications city,” Mr. Wang said.

In addition to its wholly-owned global network of R&D facilities, Huawei also operates more than 22 joint innovation centers with its customers. In 2009, Huawei invested 10% of its revenues and dedicated 46% of its employees to R&D.