ADTRAN Earns New TL 9000 Registration; Company is One of the First to Qualify for the Newly Released TL 9000 Quality System Governing Suppliers to the Telecommunications Industry.

Business Editors &Technology Writers

HUNTSVILLE, Ala.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 25, 2000

ADTRAN, Inc. (Nasdaq:ADTN) today announced that it has received registration to the new TL 9000 quality system. The TL 9000 registration, granted to the company by the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI), verifies that ADTRAN is in full compliance with a newly released set of quality system requirements that apply specifically to suppliers in the telecommunications industry. The registration extends and supplements the already extensive ISO 9001 registration ADTRAN has held for six years, further assuring that ADTRAN is observing the most stringent quality guidelines possible in delivering its products and services. The official registration certificate was presented today at the general QuEST Forum meeting in Dallas, Texas.

Management at ADTRAN views this accomplishment as another milestone in the company's ongoing commitment to assure quality in all phases of business and manufacturing operations. &uot;ADTRAN has always been a huge proponent of quality and standards,&uot; comments Charles O'Donnell, vice president of quality for ADTRAN. &uot;As such, our goal was to be deeply involved in the formulation of this new standard, and to be one of the first to receive registration. We have now achieved this goal.&uot;

The TL 9000 standard was developed by the Quality Excellence for Suppliers of Telecommunications Leadership Forum (QuEST Forum), a consortium of over 100 interested suppliers and service providers in the telecommunications industry. As a founding member of the Forum, ADTRAN contributed significantly to the development of the new standard.

TL 9000 includes all of the elements of the widely accepted ISO 9001 standard, plus a number of other requirements specific to the telecommunications industry. It supplements ISO 9001 in the areas of reliability and associated costs, software development and life-cycle management, requirements for specialized service functions such as installation and engineering, and requirements to address continuing communication between telecommunications service providers and suppliers. TL 9000 also requires registered companies to report cost- and performance-based metrics to a central repository for the purpose of calculating industry-wide performance.

&uot;The TL 9000 registration is ultimately about guaranteeing that telecommunications consumers get the best possible service for their money,&uot; notes O'Donnell. &uot;By adopting this standard as early as possible, ADTRAN plans to lead the way in delivering that end result. As more suppliers begin to adopt this quality requirement, many of the inconsistencies apparent in today's marketplace will begin to disappear.&uot;

About ADTRAN

Established in 1985, ADTRAN, Inc. is a leading provider of network deployment and access solutions for delivering today's digital telecommunications services over existing copper infrastructures.

Today, ADTRAN technologies support more than two million local loops worldwide. More than 500 ADTRAN products support all major digital technologies, including T3, T1, E1, Frame Relay, DDS, HDSL, xDSL, ISDN, and wireless transport. In the carrier network and enterprise markets, ADTRAN produces a complete end-to-end solution that provides the greatest network efficiency and lowest possible telecommunications costs.

According to Dataquest and IDC, ADTRAN holds revenue-leading positions in the Frame Relay/DDS, ISDN extension and HDSL/T1/E1 network and access markets. ADTRAN customers include the Regional Bell Operating Companies, interexchange carriers, GTE, domestic independent service providers, corporate end users, international customers and original equipment manufacturers.

For more information, contact the company at 800/9ADTRAN (800/923-8726), 256/963-8373, or by e-mail at [e-mail]. On the web, visit www.adtran.com.

About QuEST Forum

QuEST Forum is a worldwide organization for cooperation and communication between telecommunication service providers and suppliers. QuEST Forum's goal is to create a consistent set of quality system requirements that apply to the telecommunications industry worldwide, while maintaining compatibility with other sets of requirements and standards. QuEST Forum membership is comprised of more than 100 service providers and suppliers. In 1999, QuEST Forum established a new set of quality system requirements known as TL 9000 that will ultimately apply to an estimated 10,000 telecommunications suppliers worldwide. QuEST Forum members sit on committees sponsored by many standard setting organizations. QuEST Forum is currently preparing to represent the telecommunications industry on the ISO 9000 Technical Committee 176, which is revising the ISO 9000 family of standards. For more information, see the QuEST Forum web site at www.questforum.org, or contact Jeff Weitzer at 414/765-8672 or [e-mail].