Nokia opens 3G R&D center in China’s southwest

Nokia on Monday announced the opening of a research and development center in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu to develop applications based on 3G (third-generation) mobile technology.

The Nokia Chengdu R&D Center is the company’s sixth R&D center to be set up in China and the second to focus on technologies related to 3G mobile services, Nokia said. The center officially opened in a ceremony that took place on Sunday, it said.

In a statement, Nokia billed the Chengdu R&D Center as a further step in its efforts to localize its Chinese operations and said the move will help boost its position in the Chinese market. But the center is not focused exclusively on China. Nokia said work carried out there would be applied to mobile applications based on 3G and IP (Internet Protocol) Multimedia Subsystem for markets around the world.

In terms of subscriber numbers, China is the world’s largest market for mobile services. However, 3G services are not currently available here. At present, the country has two mobile operators who offer 2G and 2.5G services based on the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) and CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) standards.

The Chinese government has not issued a timeframe for when 3G licenses will be issued, although observers generally expect them to be issued sometime within the next year or so.