Bellcore's CSQP registration awarded to Westell; Telecommunications supplier one of first to display Bellcore's Registered Excellence Certification Mark and Design.

MORRISTOWN, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 16, 1996--Bellcore announced today that Westell Inc. has been registered under Bellcore's new CSQP(SM) registration program.

This permits Westell, a company known for its research, development, manufacturing and distribution of transmission equipment, to use Bellcore's Registered Excellence (and Design)(TM) Certification Mark. The mark indicates that Westell's quality processes at its Oswego, Ill. manufacturing site have met Bellcore's stringent assessment criteria in the manufacture of transmission products -- including quality processes supporting strong supplier/customer relationships. The mark was first unveiled in March 1996.

"Westell's quality processes for transmission products at its Oswego plant have met both ISO 9000 and our own CSQP assessments," said Wes Hoover, Bellcore executive director for procurement and quality services support. "In permitting the use of our Certification Mark and registering this site under our CSQP program, we recognize Westell's ongoing effort to consistently demonstrate excellence in their processes."

Unlike the ISO 9001 registration which provides a static view of a company's quality program, Bellcore's CSQP program is a dynamic process which looks for, and assesses, quality improvement initiatives. While not an end in itself, the CSQP registration is a means to an end, Hoover noted.

CSQP requirements include leadership, customer/supplier relationships, strategic quality planning, human resource development, and quality results and customer satisfaction.

"Using Bellcore was the best business decision we could have made," said Paul Zoric, director of quality at Westell. "It's very important to us and our customers to have processes that have been assessed by a reputable and knowledgeable third party such as Bellcore. This service helps to ensure that we produce, and will continue to produce, the best products."

Westell will be listed in Bellcore's CSQP Registry, a directory which will identify all companies who have met the criteria for using Bellcore's Registered Excellence Mark. The directory will be available to the industry in both hard copy and on the Internet at Bellcore's web site. "We'll also be using the Bellcore Registered Excellence Mark in our sales and marketing literature," Zoric said.

Bellcore Process Registration services, such as ISO 9000 Registration and Bellcore's CSQP Registration, are available to equipment suppliers as part of the company's Certification and Registration Program. The program also provides Certification services for product capabilities in areas such as Network Equipment Building Standards (NEBS) environmental testing, ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network), ADSI (Asynchronous Digital Screen Interface), screen telephone technology, and Equal Access for Routers.

For more information about Bellcore Professional Services for Telecommunications and Information Network Equipment Suppliers, call 1-800-521-CORE (U.S. and Canada), or [phone] (in all other countries), or visit Bellcore on the World Wide Web: http://www.bellcore.com.

Bellcore, headquartered in Morristown, is a leading provider of telecommunications software, engineering and consulting services based on world-class research. Bellcore creates the business solutions that make information technology work for telecommunications carriers, businesses and governments worldwide. Bellcore has sales offices throughout the United States and in Hong Kong and in London. -0- Registered Excellence (and Design) is a trademark of Bellcore.

CSQP is a service mark of Bellcore.

CONTACT: Bellcore

Barbara Kaufman, 201/829-2178