CALIFORNIA, USA: Bytemobile, Inc., a provider of mobile Internet solutions for network operators, announced on Thursday the opening of a new center for research and development in Beijing, China.

The new R&D center would focus initially on product customization, localization and custom engineering for the world’s largest market for mobile services. Bytemobile also maintains R&D centers in Patras, Greece; Mountain View, California; and Champaign, Illinois, said a press release.

According to industry sources in China, the national wireless market currently has nearly 700 million users and is growing at a rate where it continues to adds approximately 1.25 million users per month. BDA Connect estimates that the subset of users browsing the Internet on mobile devices in China will reach 389 million in 2009.

Bytemobile’s customer base includes China’s three largest wireless network operators – China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom. In July 2009, Bytemobile announced that it had been awarded Phase 1 of China Mobile’s nationwide Web Gateway project on its new 3G TD-SCDMA network.

“The new Beijing R&D center underscores a commitment to our customer base in China and our plans to accelerate Bytemobile’s momentum there,” said Chris Koopmans, vice president of Product Development.

He added that as we continue to penetrate the provincial operators of the country’s three leading networks, demand for localization and customization of their solutions continues to grow. Now, with an R&D presence in China, they are strongly positioned to anticipate and respond to the market’s unique requirements and drive their thought leadership throughout the region.

Koopmans added that maintaining global R&D operations is a core strategy which enables Bytemobile to tap local pools of technical talent and keep its engineers close to customers – which is critical to market leadership and continuous innovation. In addition to the new R&D center, the company has a regional sales and support office in Beijing.