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First such facility outside US; Wipro partnership to continue

EXPANDING OPERATIONS: (From left) Mr Ashok K Sapra, Managing Director, Telcordia India; Mr Daniel J. Caroll, Jr., President and CEO, Telcordia Technologies; Mr Dayanidhi Maran, Union Minister of Communication and Information Technology; and Ms Mala Sarat Chandra, Executive Vice-President, Software Systems, Telcordia; at the inauguration of Telcordia India lab in Chennai on Monday. - Bijoy Ghosh

Chennai , June 12

Telcordia Technologies Inc, a $1 billion US-based provider of telecom software solutions, has established a research and development lab in Chennai, its first such facility outside the US. Mr Dayanidhi Maran, Union Minister Communications and Information Technology, inaugurated the lab, located in Tidel Park.

The company also established its India entity, Telcordia Technologies India Pvt Ltd, to provide dedicated resources for mobile, fixed line and cable operators throughout the country. The new entity will be headquartered in Gurgaon with programme delivery in Hyderabad, said its Chief Executive Officer, Mr Daniel J. Carroll, Jr.

The lab in Chennai would work on telecom solutions relevant to India and for the company's global operations. The company has been in India for the last few years working through partners and reported a turnover of $ 30 million (Rs 135 crore) last year.

Its clients included Tata Teleservices, Idea, Reliance Infocomm, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and Department of Telecommunication, he told newspersons.

The company would have about 150 employees in the Chennai lab in the next 18 months, and ramp up to about 500 in phases, he said without divulging any investment number.

According to Ms Mala Chandra, Executive Vice President, Software Systems, Telcordia, the company's partnership with Wipro would not be affected through the setting up of the India entity.

"We would continue to do software development in partnership with such providers, and do our own R&D in Chennai to create new intellectual property," she said.

In the US, Telcordia's software carries 80 per cent of telephony traffic and handles 100 per centtoll free traffic, as well as 90 per cent wireless number portability — a user can switch telephone service providers within the same geographic area and keep the existing phone number — transactions.

The company served more than 800 government and private sector customers in 55 countries, including India, said a press release.

Telcordia is looking at implementing the wireless number portability in India, and is in talks with various government authorities on this, according to Mr Naveen Suri, Vice-President, Telcordia Global Services. Once there is a Government regulation, service providers would form a consortium to introduce the service, which the company facilitates in eight countries, including the US, he said.

Promoting TN

Mr Maran said he was trying to promote Tamil Nadu as a destination of choice for telecom, and telecom-related activities. Already, Nokia, Flextronics, Foxconn and Motorola hadcome to the State. The setting up of Telcordia's R&D lab in Chennai would only add to the list, he said.

``We are adding about five million subscribers every month, and have already crossed 150 million subscribers by the end of May 2006. It is envisaged that about 250 million telephones would be provided by 2007, an addition of about 100 million in the next 19 months," he said.

More Stories on : Software | Telecommunications | Off-shore Development | Tamil Nadu

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