Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) is seeking up to EUR200 million (US$265 million) in financing from the European Investment Bank (EIB), reports Reuters. The world’s second-largest mobile network vendor would reportedly use the loan to finance part of its R&D for the upcoming LTE technology standard. A Warsaw Business Journal report adds that part of the cash could also be used to expand its R&D centre in Wroclaw, Poland, targeting an increase from 1,100 engineers to around 1,500 at the location.

The EIB has previously funded a number of mobile projects. In July last year, NSN rival Ericsson signed a seven-year loan deal worth SEK4 billion (US$485 million) for R&D activity at two sites in Sweden. Meanwhile, one of NSN’s parents, Nokia, in February secured a EUR500 million loan to fund R&D projects around its Symbian operating system. Last August it was also reported that Telefonica Celular del Paraguay (Telecel) was provided with EUR68.5 million to part-finance the expansion of its GSM network.