In a sign the nation's push to build its networking and communications industry is bearing fruit, US-based Agilent Technologies Inc and the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI,
Fiber-optic communications is seen as a key industry as Taiwan begins to create a "knowledge-based" economy.
"The first major step in the cooperation agreement will be for ITRI and Agilent to jointly set up an international testing center next year," said Yin Chi-ming (
"This testing center will be the first of its kind in Taiwan and will assist in industrial upgrading, and eventually enable us to become more involved in testing products to meet international standards, which is vital to the evolution of the industry here," he said.
Agilent, which spun off from Hewlett-Packard in 1999, is one of the world's largest networking firms, with US$10.8 billion in revenues last year.
ITRI is a publicly funded research center based in the Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park (新竹科學園區). The center has helped incubate such companies as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電).
The new testing center will be built next year in the Hsinchu science park, the heart of Taiwan's information-technology sector.
The production value of the networking and communications sector in Taiwan is poised to grow 27.6 percent this year, despite a global downturn that has crippled the earnings of global giants like Cisco Systems Inc and Lucent Technologies Inc.
According to the Industrial Technology Information Service (ITIS), a division of the economics ministry, the production value of Taiwan's optical communication's industry will grow to NT$14.2 billion (US$412 million) this year. Next year, ITIS expects the industry to grow another 43 percent.
Optical fibers and cables made for high-speed data transmission account for the largest share of this industry in Taiwan, followed by passive devices and initiative devices.
In addition to the testing center, Agilent also signed a memorandum of understanding with the ministry to carry out joint projects, exchange technical information, upgrade and train engineers and explore further opportunities for cooperation.
Earlier this year, Agilent invested an undisclosed amount of money in Star Technologies Inc, a Hsinchu-based company that supplies testing and integration products and designs to chipmakers, Si and GaAs wafer and LCD fabrication firms, design and testing houses and communications components manufacturers in Taiwan.
According to Benny Lo, an equity analyst who covers the communications-equipment sector for Primasia Securities Corp, some of Taiwan's leading networking companies include Accton Technology Corp (
ITIS expects the output value of the nation's communications industry to reach NT$227.48 billion (US$6.6 billion) this year, up 28.5 percent year-on-year. The institute said rapid growth in wireless communications and broadband networking is driving global demand in the sector.
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