Global Telecom Company, Tellabs, Expands With New Research Lab in Melbourne, Australia

CHICAGO, Nov. 1, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Global telecommunications company, Tellabs (Nasdaq: TLAB), has announced it will open its first Innovation Solutions Research Lab in the State of Victoria, Australia's capital city, Melbourne, creating 25 jobs in the city during the next three years.

Victorian Minister for Information and Communication Technology, John Lenders, said Tellabs' growth and expansion in Victoria is a testament to the state's ability to attract major global companies. The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry injects more than $27.4 billion a year into the State of Victoria's economy and employs more than 131,500 Victorians in ICT professions.

As the ICT capitol of Australia, Victoria is home to more than 8,400 ICT companies and the development efforts for the Australian National Broadband Network (NBN). Victoria is set to capitalize on securing the hub of the $43 billion NBN with a $110 million ICT action plan to create jobs and keep Victoria at the forefront of high-end global ICT research and development.

"International technology leader Tellabs is looking to invest more capital, more jobs and spurn more economic development in Melbourne to take advantage of our reputation as the telecommunications hub of Australia," said Lenders. "The Victorian Government is standing up for Victorian jobs by working with businesses with operations across the world."

Since setting up its Australian headquarters in Melbourne in 2006, Tellabs has increased its staff by 300 percent and become a leading provider to Telstra. Tellabs' Australian headquarters provides telecommunications clients with optical and mobile networking and service layer technologies, advanced R&D, sales and IT services, particularly for next-generation services.

"Opening the lab in Melbourne is an important step for Tellabs in Australia as it will expand our ability to support and test cutting-edge technology," said Tellabs Australian Managing Director Nick Faulkner. "With continued major investment into the research and development of our Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) products, we are able to offer a greener technology that uses 70 percent less power compared with overlay solutions with limitless bandwidth potential."

"Tellabs is a great example of the continued growth of Victoria's global networks and reinforces the state's reputation as a growing economy with a competitive tax system, one of the most attractive lifestyles in the world and a highly skilled workforce," said Lenders.

"We're committed to our investment in Melbourne and aim to continue to grow at the same rate in which we have over the past five years," said Tellabs' Global President and CEO Robert W. Pullen.

For business inquiries regarding Victoria's ICT industry, contact Victor Perton, Commissioner to the Americas, State Government of Victoria, Australia (415.856.0552 ext. 103, [email protected]).

About Tellabs

Tellabs innovations enable the mobile Internet and help our customers succeed. That's why 44 of the top 50 global communications service providers choose our mobile, optical, business and services solutions. We help them get ahead by adding revenue, reducing expenses and optimizing networks.

Tellabs (Nasdaq: TLAB) is part of the NASDAQ Global Select Market, Ocean Tomo 300™ Patent Index, the S&P 500 and several corporate responsibility indexes including the Maplecroft Climate Innovation Index, FTSE4Good and eight FTSE KLD indexes. www.tellabs.com

About Invest Victoria

Invest Victoria is the investment promotion agency of the State Government of Victoria, Australia. Invest Victoria provides a single entry point to a range of business and investment services for companies wanting to set up or expand their business operations through foreign direct investment (FDI) in the state of Victoria.

The agency operates U.S. offices in Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. For locations and contact information, visit http://www.invest.vic.gov.au/offices.

For more information on Invest Victoria's services, visit http://www.invest.vic.gov.au.

Media Contact: Michelle Craig, Nyhus Communications for Invest Victoria; 206.323.3733; [email protected]

SOURCE Invest Victoria