Motorola India yesterday announced the setting up of a top-end very large scale integration IC (integrated circuit) design centre in Gurgaon.
The establishment of the centre will double the US electronics-to-telecom major's investments in India from $50 million to $100 million.
The design centre will work in conjunction with Motorola's global design teams to develop future products for wireless -- cellular, wireless in local loop and radio products -- markets across the world, a company press release said.
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Fred Shalpak, senior vice president and general manager of the wireless subscriber systems group, said: "For the Motorola semiconductor sector this is the first facility of its kind in India. The Gurgaon design centre will join Motorola semiconductor design centres in Europe, the US, Israel, Singapore, China, Brazil and the recently-announced centre in Cork, Ireland."
The IC design facility will take advantage of India's high-end software and design talents. For instance, engineers with Motorola India Electronics Ltd -- the US company's software development centre at Bangalore -- have developed telecom software for cellular base (radio) stations and ground control software for Iridium, a Motorola-led global mobile personal communication system.
"Our decision was also determined by the fact that India has a large reservoir of the best engineering talent in the world.
We expect to have over 40 VLSI design engineers working at this centre by the end of this year," Shalpak added.
Motorola's wireless subscriber systems group is part of the Shaumberg (US)-based vendor's semiconductor products sector which develops state-of-the-art chips for the telecom market. The semiconductor products sector -- billing some $8 billion in revenues -- is among the leading producers of embedded processors.
Motorola hopes to replicate its success with the Bangalore software development centre in the IC design unit and its second software development facility being set up in Hyderabad. The number of Motorola employees in the country is also likely to go up with fresh investments. It currently employs some 1,200.
The $28 billion vendor's India investments include a paging factory, a development centre for high-end software, a two-way radio manufacturing and modem assembly facilities; all of which are based in Bangalore.
It also has six joint ventures going in the country: three in mobile trunking radio services; one in paging called Pagepoint; and a satellite communications venture -- Iridium -- with a consortium of Indian financial institutions. Further, it holds 10 per cent in Modicom Networks, the cellular licensee in Punjab and Karnataka.