Spurred by the increased globalization of the telecommunications industry, a consortium of telecom companies has released TL9000, a new set of quality standards. The requirements will affect more than 10,000 suppliers and service providers worldwide. The consortium, the Quality Excellence for Suppliers of Telecommunications Leadership Forum, was initiated by Bell Atlantic, BellSouth, Pacific Bell and Southwestern Bell. The new standards are based on ISO 9000, a quality management system standard that was developed by the International Organization for Standardization.