Blackberry manufacturer RIM's new development centre is the perfect distance from the Vodafone Test and Innovation Centre in Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf, 23 April 2008. Vodafone Germany's CEO Friedrich Joussen welcomed the establishment of RIM's European Research & Development Centre in Bochum. "There's a lot of international competition for high-tech enterprises, so this is a major success for Germany, North-Rhine Westphalia and Bochum," said Joussen in Düsseldorf this Wednesday. Vodafone and Blackberry manufacturer, RIM, are close cooperation partners. "We'll be supporting the close cooperation between RIM's research & development centre in Bochum and Vodafone's Test and Innovation Centre in Düssel¬dorf so that we can build on our existing partnership," said Joussen. Vodafone Germany already supports RIM's global development activities from its headquarters in Waterloo/Canada.
"RIM has made the right choice by selecting Bochum as the location for its R&D centre. There will be additional jobs for skilled employees, which is very good news for Bochum and North-Rhine Westphalia. RIM's plans pay tribute to Germany's status as a high-tech and telecommunications location, and its highly qualified labour force. We'll be giving RIM all the support we can in this project," explained Joussen.
Vodafone Germany already supports RIM's global development unit, which is based in Waterloo/Canada. In 2007, Vodafone Germany provided RIM with an ultra-modern UMTS/HSDPA test network for its centre in Waterloo and gave it access to the Düsseldorf Test and Innovation Centre's facilities. Vodafone has been running mobile communications development projects in Düsseldorf for over ten years now. The Test and Innovation Centre is 7,000 square metres in size and it has all the components of an ultra-modern wireless network, from base station through billing systems to multimedia platforms. The Düsseldorf test environment delivers the same capacity that a wireless network in Switzerland would require.
The Vodafone Test and Innovation Centre in Düsseldorf was selected as one of the places around Germany in the "Land of Ideas". The Land of Ideas contest's patron is Federal President, Horst Köhler.
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Vodafone Germany is one of the largest and most modern telecommunications providers in Europe. It serves almost 34 million customers, realises turnover of more than EUR 8 billion and has 9,000 employees. Vodafone Germany is an innovative technology and service enterprise, offering a comprehensive range of mobile communication services from one provider. The portfolio includes mobile communications and fixed network telephony, as well as data services for business and private customers. Continuous development, numerous patents and investments in new products, services and the modern network have made Vodafone an innovation leader in the German telecommunications market. The company is headquartered in Düsseldorf. Eight branch offices and a chain of 1600 Vodafone shops keep us close to our customers. The Vodafone Germany group of companies also includes a majority shareholding in the Arcor telecommunications group, which is headquartered in Eschborn, Germany. Vodafone Germany is committed to CSR and it additionally supports numerous projects through the German Vodafone Foundation.
The company is part of the Vodafone Group. Visit the website at www.vodafone.de for further information.