Alcatel-Lucent said that its research arm Bell Labs will open a technology research facility in the South Korean capital, Seoul, in partnership with the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Korea University.
The company said that the new research facility Bell Labs Seoul is expected to focus its efforts from the outset on broadband and mobile applications and services and their enabling sciences and technologies.
Located in the Digital Media City (DMC) at Seoul’s Sangam District, the new facility will operate using a collaborative model that complements the efforts of research staff by engaging partners from academia, government and industry who will work together in solving problems and conceiving offerings that benefit customers and society, the company said.
Jeong Kim, president of Bell Labs, said: “The opening of Bell Labs in Seoul is significant because it deepens our research activities in Korea, expands our global scope, and opens up new research horizons that we expect will generate disruptive technologies. It also builds on our decades of experience in Korea during which we have developed strong partnerships and provided innovative network solutions and services.”
Oh Se-hoon, mayor of Seoul, said: “The opening of Bell Labs Seoul in the Digital Media City is an important development that will position Seoul as a technology research hub in Asia. I anticipate that the collaboration and the sharing of knowledge between an advanced foreign research institution and the local research community will lead to new research activities that align well with the local IT infrastructure and advance Seoul as a leader in the industry.”
Other Bell Labs locations include Belgium, Germany, China, India, France, Ireland and the US.
