Bookham Technology wins first European registration to new telecoms quality standard

The UK-based optical components firm Bookham Technology has become the first European organisation to achieve a new quality standard for the telecoms industry.

The award - TL 9000 registration - was presented by the British Standards Institution, the global product certification and quality assurance leader.

Introduced in the USA earlier this year, TL 9000 is based on the established management system standard ISO 9000, and aims to provide a worldwide quality benchmark for the telecommunications industry, eliminating the need for compliance to multiple industry standards around the world.

Kay Ruddeforth, BSI's business manager for IT and telecoms, said: "We've helped Bookham Technology achieve its quality goals by auditing its system and awarding the company with the first certificate for TL 9000 in Europe."

Russell Johnson, Bookham Technology's director of quality systems, said: "Everyone at Bookham Technology is very proud to be the first European based company to achieve TL 9000 registration. This recognition demonstrates our continuing commitment to quality in all that we do."

Bookham Technology (LSE: BHM: Nasdaq: BKHM) designs, manufactures and markets optical components which allow communications networks to be constructed efficiently to meet the growing demands of Internet traffic. Using patented silicon-based ASOC technology, the company's products generate, detect, route and control light signals in the next-generation optical communication networks. The company, which is quoted on Nasdaq and the London Stock Exchange, is headquartered in the UK and has offices in the US, France and Japan.

BSI helps organisations get the most value from their management systems through registration to international standards by a process-driven auditing approach. In addition to registering firms to the telecoms quality standard, BSI registers organisations to standards covering the management of information security, quality, environmental best practice, and occupational health and safety.