ASIA : Ericsson announced today that it will establish a new R&D center in Nanjing, China, to focus on the development of TD-SCDMA product offerings.

The R&D center will be able to fully leverage Ericsson's leading technologies and solutions in 3G, as well as strong local R&D capabilities. It will allow Ericsson to further enhance and complete its TD-SCDMA offerings.

"Today's announcement is yet another demonstration of Ericsson's unwavering commitment to the China market and Chinese customers," said Dan Redin, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Ericsson Greater China. "With the establishment of the new R&D center, we take one more step forward in addressing the specific needs of the local market, and will be better positioned to capture the huge opportunities presented by China's fast-growing telecom market with a complete portfolio of cutting-edge 3G mobile solutions."

The TD-SCDMA R&D Center is expected to have 50 research staff at
first.

As part of its commitment to delivering best-in-class TD-SCDMA solutions for local markets, Ericsson announced on the same day the signing of a strategic alliance agreement with Zhongxing Telecom
Equipment Corporation (ZTE) to collaborate in the TD-SCDMA area.

As the leading end-to-end solutions and services provider in China's mobile market, Ericsson has been working closely with local partners and government to become fully prepared for 3G rollout in China. For example, Ericsson successfully delivered its first shipment of Chinese developed and made 3G/WCDMA radio base station products already in November 2004, demonstrating its strong local R&D and production capabilities in 3G.

For decades now, Ericsson has been dedicated to the continued growth of its R&D initiatives in China in areas across radio networks, core networks and service networks. Ericsson has established R&D centers in several major Chinese cities, including Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Nanjing, Qingdao and Chengdu.