Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2012/01/30/huawei_gets_cool_brittania_vibe/

Huawei extends R&D in UK

Snaps up photonics lab

By Natalie Apostolou

Posted in On-Prem, 30th January 2012 20:07 GMT

Huawei has swooped on the assets of the UK based Centre for Integrated Photonics Ltd (CIP), a photonics research laboratory, from the East of England Development Agency (EEDA).

The Chinese telco powerhouse will retain the CIP team, which is located in Ipswich, to will form the core of the new Huawei UK R&D centre as part of its global network.

Huawei said that it will continue to invest in fibre optic R&D to ensure that CIP remains an innovator in this technology sector. Huawei currently has six research facilities in Europe. EEDA said the investment was a success story for CIP which was originally owned by a US consortium and was acquitted by EEDA in 2003 to save it from shut down.

CIP’s CEO, Peter Wharton said “we had a good level of interest from potential acquirers, but the management team and staff overwhelmingly backed EEDA’s view of the Huawei bid because we believe its industry-leading R&D capabilities and investment in CIP will lead us to have many more significant achievements in the future.

"The last six months of working closely with Huawei has more than met our expectations, building the foundations for an excellent working relationship.”

Last year Huawei announced plans to double its UK workforce to 1,000 in addition to opening a European design centre for its mobile device business as well as an internal audit centre, both located in the UK. ®