MUMBAI, India -- ECI Telecom (NASDAQ: ECIL - News), a global provider of advanced telecommunication solutions to leading carriers and service providers, announced the opening of a new Research and Development center in India. The new site joins ECI's existing R&D facilities in the U.S., Israel, and China.

The new center is a key to expanding ECI's research and development capabilities as well as its strong presence in the region, which was established more than 10 years ago. By establishing the center, ECI strives to attract top-level research engineers by tapping into talent centers such as India. The new center will reduce the time to market of new products, features and technologies for ECI's worldwide customers. It will also help develop a strong technical talent pool in the region.

The R&D site will focus on ECI's broadband access solutions to develop its next generation product line and management solutions, and to expedite the penetration of new products to the region. Additionally, the center will focus on ECI's optical networking solutions, for complex testing and integration of the XDM® platform and network management solutions. ECI is now hiring staff to build up the center.

"India is an optimal location for our new Research and Development center, based on the region's superb talent in software development and ability to work with companies like us that are focused on telecom and high-tech initiatives," said Rafi Maor, Chief Operating Officer of ECI Telecom. "As a result of our well-established customer relationships, we believe that it is the right time to expand our commitment in this region by adding this new center."

ECI Telecom Ltd.