ADTRAN, Inc. Appoints W. Frank Blount to Board Of Directors.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 21, 1999--

ADTRAN, Inc. (Nasdaq:ADTN) announced today that W. Frank Blount, recently retired Chief Executive Officer of Telstra Corporation, Ltd., has been appointed to the board of directors. He succeeds O. Gene Gabbard, who did not stand for re-election.

ADTRAN, Inc. Chairman and CEO Mark Smith said of the appointment," We are pleased to have an executive of Frank Blount's international stature joining our board of directors. With his decades-long record of world-class leadership in telecommunications, Frank is an ideal addition to ADTRAN'S board, and we look forward to his contributions."

For the past seven years, Frank Blount, 60, has been based in Sidney, Australia, as Chief Executive Officer of Telstra Corporation, Ltd., Australia's principal telecommunications company, with revenues in excess of $10 billion. Prior to his appointment as CEO of Telstra, Blount, a Georgia native, spent 30 years as an executive with AT&T Corporation and Southern Bell (now BellSouth) in network operations, field operations, sales, marketing, training and education. His final role at AT&T was Group President of AT&T Communications, reporting to the CEO.

In the United States, Blount serves on the boards of Entergy Corporation, Caterpillar and First Union National Bank of Georgia. In Australia, he is a director of Broken Hill Proprietary Company Ltd., National Australian Bank and Pioneer International.

Blount is a graduate of three universities: Georgia Institute of Technology (BSEE, 1961), Georgia State (MBA, 1969) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan Fellow, 1971).

Reflecting his lifelong commitment to education, Mr. Blount has held positions as Trustee of Rochester Institute of Technology, Chairman of the Advisory Board of Georgia Tech and Chairman of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. Under President Bush and Secretary of Education, Lamar Alexander, he served as the head of the New American Schools initiative, established to launch the design of high-performance learning environments for children. In Australia, he has been especially active in various organizations supporting the arts.

ADTRAN'S Mr. Smith noted, "Recruiting Frank Blount to the ADTRAN team is consistent with our long-term strategy of augmenting our global capabilities."

ADTRAN, Inc., headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama, designs, develops and manufactures ADvanced TRANsmission products for high-speed digital communications. Its products are sold through a network of value-added resellers and distributors around the world.

Information about ADTRAN Inc. and its financial results can be accessed on the Internet at www.adtran.com.