BSI, Inc. To be Among the First Registrars Accredited to the TL 9000 Telecommunications Management Standard.

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 7, 1999--

BSI, Inc.'s Participation in the TL 9000 Pilot Program will

Ensure its Position as a Leader in TL 9000 Registrations

BSI, Inc., the North American organization of BSI, the world's leading registrar of quality and environmental management systems, today announced that it is part of the pilot program for the new TL 9000 standard developed by the telecommunications industry.

Participation in this program will position BSI, Inc. among the first group of registrars to be accredited to register companies to TL 9000.

The TL 9000 standard was developed by the Quality Excellence for Suppliers of Telecommunications (QuEST) Leadership Forum. Implementation of TL 9000 will enable network providers and their suppliers to improve the overall quality of products and services, while realizing considerable returns on investment.

The telecommunications industry spends a significant amount of time and money addressing failures of service and product. By defining the specific quality needs, and by setting clear goals and objectives, the telecommunications industry has declared that a continuous improvement philosophy has to be the culture for future success, and will come from adoption throughout the supply-chain.

Continuous improvement can only be achieved by measurement, and the metrics handbook is the part of TL 9000 that differentiates this standard from all other quality management standards.

"TL 9000 is a quality management standard that has been developed by the telecommunications industry, for the telecommunications industry," said Reg Blake, regulatory affairs manager for BSI, Inc. and representative of the Independent Association of Accredited Registrars (IAAR) on QuEST committees. "The major stakeholders in the industry came together to create the QuEST Forum, which has enabled development of a standard that addresses specific telecommunications concerns."

Recently, QuEST published the first of two handbooks of a new quality management standard, TL 9000, based on ISO 9001, specifically for the telecommunications industry. In response to the rapid growth of the telecommunications industry, the TL 9000 standard was developed by service providers to enhance the quality of products and services provided by suppliers in this fast-growing, dynamic industry.

This standard will help assure the quality of products and services in this industry among the numerous suppliers.

The pilot program was developed by QuEST to validate the handbooks, the accreditation and registration process, and the training courses and supporting material. A number of QuEST members volunteered to participate in the pilot program, and their participation included their respective registrars.

With QuEST overseeing it, the pilot program will assure effective accreditation and registration services, with the added benefits of accreditation to TL 9000 for the participant registrars and registration/certification to the pilot program companies.

This is the first round for this mutually beneficial program, and it will position BSI, Inc. among the first group of registrars to be accredited to TL 9000.

"Poor quality incurs an enormous cost to the industry and is the fundamental reason for development of the standard," said Blake. "Industry is interested in driving down the cost of poor quality, thereby adding value to its processes and the bottom line. TL 9000 will be of particular interest to the network providers, who are very dependent on their huge supplier base. If those suppliers let them down, then they in turn are let down in the eyes of the customer. A quality management system is necessary in order to avoid these issues, and the demand for TL 9000 will come from the network providers to be pushed through the supply chain. Additionally, some suppliers want to be ahead of the game and differentiate themselves from their competition. TL 9000 will give them a substantial return on investment and offers a competitive advantage over others in the industry."

About BSI, Inc.

Founded in 1901, BSI has issued over 33,000 registrations in over 75 countries. BSI, Inc. was established in 1991 and is headquartered in Reston, Virginia, with nine offices throughout the U.S., two in Mexico, and one in Canada to serve the North American market.

BSI, the world's leading registrar, was the world's first national standards body and a founding member of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

BSI facilitated the development of and published the first commercial standards to address quality management systems, environmental management systems, occupational health and safety management systems, and project management. For more information on TL 9000 or BSI, Inc., call 800/862-4977, or visit BSI, Inc. at www.bsi-inc.org.