What roles do quality and quality management systems play in a business sector facing revolution? The term isn’t too strong for what’s currently underway in the telecommunications industry. Competitive pressures and customer demands are driving the sector to introduce next-generation network technologies to lower operating costs and support new services. These are designed and sped to market as quickly as possible to offset revenues lost from traditional voice traffic. In addition, fixed, mobile and data services as well as customer demands for new and better products have transformed the telecommunications landscape. More than at any other time in the industry’s innovative history, quality and quality management are critical to its survival.

At the Quality Excellence for Suppliers of Telecommunications Forum’s 2003 Best Practices Conference, Richard Woodruff of Belgacom CAO, 2003 QuEST Forum chair, captured the state of the industry and the forum’s future role in the following comments to attendees:

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