THE US telecommunications company Tellabs is to expand its Shannon-based subsidiary with the creation of an extra 210 jobs. The firm currently employs 240 people.

The £20 million investment, which is being backed by Shannon Development, will involve the construction of a new 9,300 square metre, state-of-the-art facility at Tellabs plant in the Free Zone, the company said. The majority of jobs will be in the engineering and telecommunications fields.

Announcing the development the Minister for Enterprise and Employment, Mr Bruton, said the company had an excellent track record, driven by new product development in a rapidly changing and dynamic global telecommunications market.

"Much of Tellabs' success can be attributed to the company's decision to invest heavily in research and development in Asynchronous Transfer Mode technology," Mr Bruton said. "This technology is exciting and an integral part of broadband networks currently being deployed by service providers.

"These networks are enjoying explosive growth in the areas of telephony, the Internet, and the demand for new applications such as multimedia, tele-education and teleworking," the minister added.

Tellabs has operations in 19 countries, and has more than 3,000 employees worldwide. Its annual turnover in 1996 grew by 37 per cent to the equivalent of £869 million.