BT may locate R&D base in India

By agencies   |   Monday, 13 February 2006, 20:30 IST   |    5 Comments
Printer Print Email Email
BANGALORE: British Telecom (BT), which accounts for two percent of the country's IT exports, is likely to set up a research and development (R&D) base in India even as it scouts around for partnerships with start-ups to drive its next generation network program 21CN, a newspaper said. 21st Century Network (21CN) is BT's £10 billion IP-backbone project spanning 160 countries. By 2010, this next generation network would power latest services such as broadband over mobile, triple play and seamless roaming among others, the Hindu Business Line said. "Things are changing here in India and we are keeping a closer eye on this," said Matt Bross, Chief Technology Officer of the BT Group, when asked about the possibility of setting up a captive R&D unit in India. Impressed with the high-end capabilities and talent here, Bross said the company was also looking around for partnering with Indian start-ups working on the cutting edge telecom technologies. "We have recently set up a two-member team in India to scout for start-ups for a possible tie-up," he said. BT will be assessing their core competencies and hopes to "do more of it on an increasing basis," the paper said quoting Bross. BT is looking to partner with start-ups in areas of hardware design and engineering, which Bross described as "the core competency of Bangalore companies" as well as access networks, the paper said.