EXHIBIT 99

                                                                    NEWS RELEASE
                          -----------------------------------------------------
                                                                January 14, 2004

                                                               INVESTOR CONTACT:
                                                                    Tom Scottino
                                                                 +1.630.798.3602
                                                        tom.scottino@tellabs.com

                                                                  MEDIA CONTACT:
                                                                George Stenitzer
                                                                 +1.630.798.3800
                                                    george.stenitzer@tellabs.com

                    Edward H. Kennedy to resign from Tellabs

                Company's CEO search is progressing as scheduled

Naperville,   Ill.--   Tellabs   announced   that   Edward   H.   Kennedy,   49,
president-Tellabs  North  America,  has withdrawn his candidacy for Tellabs' CEO
position  and  resigned  from Tellabs  effective  Jan. 30 for personal  reasons.
Michael J. Birck,  Tellabs  chairman and CEO, will resume  direct  leadership of
Tellabs' North American operations on Jan. 19.

"We appreciate Ed Kennedy's  contributions to Tellabs, and Ed is working closely
with me to ensure a smooth  transition for our employees and  customers,"  Birck
said. "Meanwhile,  our CEO search is making good progress and we remain on track
for a selection by April."

Kennedy has served as  president-Tellabs  North  America  since  March 2003.  He
joined Tellabs as a result of Tellabs' 2002 acquisition of Virginia-based Ocular
Networks, where he was founder, president and CEO.

"After long and careful consideration, it's best for my family that we remain in
the Washington, D.C., area," Kennedy said. "I'm confident that Tellabs has grown
stronger over the past year, and the company's future success is driven by sound
strategy, solid next-generation products, and strong customer relationships with
industry leaders."

Tellabs  provides  innovative  bandwidth  management  solutions to help carriers
around the world move communications most efficiently and effectively. The world
communicates  through Tellabs -- most telephone  calls and Internet  sessions in
several  countries,  including  the United  States,  flow through the  company's
equipment.  Tellabs  employee-owners  develop and deploy  solutions that provide
aggregation,  grooming and business services in metro/regional  networks in more
than 100 countries (NASDAQ: TLAB; tellabs.com).

Tellabs and [GRAPHIC OMITTED] are registered trademarks of Tellabs or one of its
affiliates in the United States and/or other countries.

                                       ###