CIENA To Present WavelengthDirector OADM Transmission on Corning's New Fiber Prototype.

Business/Technology Editors

Optical Fiber Communications 2002

CORNING, N.Y. & LINTHICUM, M.D.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 18, 2002

Demonstration at OFC 2002 includes Corning's Dynamic Spectral

Equalizer for dynamic optical add/drop multiplexing

CIENA(R)Corporation (NASDAQ:CIEN), a leading provider of intelligent optical networking systems and software, and Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW), a world-leading supplier of optical fiber and optical networking modules, will present a 10 Gigabit per second (Gb/s) optical network solution using CIENA's CoreStream(TM), an advanced DWDM optical transport system, and Corning's prototype dispersion-managed fiber (DMF) solution for high-capacity, long-haul terrestrial networks.

The demonstration, which will include CIENA's new WavelengthDirector(TM) dynamic optical add/drop multiplexer (OADM), will take place at OFC 2002 in Anaheim, California in the CIENA booth (#3821), with simultaneous broadcast in the Corning booth (#3021).

CIENA will showcase its leading edge CoreStream system, transmitting 10 Gb/s signals at 25 GHz channel spacing over Corning's prototype DMF. The demonstration will also include CIENA's new WavelengthDirector(TM) OADM. The demo will feature selective wavelength blocking using Corning's Dynamic Spectral Equalizer (DSE), a key enabler of agile, transparent networks.

In addition to the CIENA broadcast, the Corning booth will also feature analysis of Corning's DMF prototype. DMF is a technology in which Corning combines two or more fibers within a transmission span, thus achieving simultaneous optimization of dispersion, slope and effective area. Live measurements of Corning's prototype fiber technology will highlight the unique dispersion flatness, tailored effective area distribution and characteristic optical time domain reflectometer signature of this unique DMF solution.

The increased system performance demonstrated with this DMF technology translates into longer reach, provides flexibility for all-optical networking and lowers system costs for tomorrow's networks.

CIENA's CoreStream is an advanced DWDM optical transport system with capacity of 1.6+ Terabits/second over a single fiber. The system is designed for service providers who require scalable capacity, design flexibility and high reliability, without the added operational costs usually associated with such benefits. CoreStream has an open architecture, enabling carriers to transport all types of traffic including voice, video and data. Specifically, CoreStream's distributed intelligence will allow carriers the flexibility of adding or dropping single wavelengths along network routes under software control. WaveDirector, expected to be commercially available in fiscal fourth quarter of this year, enables carriers to better automate their networks, thereby saving considerable operational costs.

"Working with CIENA on these next-generation optical network solutions has been a tremendous opportunity for Corning," said Wendell Weeks, Corning Optical Communications president. "With the collaboration of CIENA and Corning's optical expertise and system understanding, we can develop and evaluate next-generation technologies that may well revolutionize optical networking, providing value to our customers and the industry."

"Working with Corning has been an asset to our next-generation technology development, including WavelengthDirector, particularly given that Corning offers integrated fiber and photonics solutions through their optical communications portfolio," said Steve Alexander, CIENA chief technology officer. "With its proven track record of quality and reliability, Corning is a natural choice for collaboration."

About CIENA

CIENA Corporation's market-leading optical networking systems form the core for the new era of networks and services worldwide. CIENA's LightWorks(TM) architecture enables next-generation optical services and changes the fundamental economics of service-provider networks by simplifying the network and reducing the cost to operate it. Additional information about CIENA can be found at http://www.ciena.com.

About Corning Incorporated

Established in 1851, Corning Incorporated (www.corning.com) creates leading-edge technologies for the fastest-growing markets of the world's economy. Corning manufactures optical fiber, cable and photonic products for the telecommunications industry; and high-performance displays and components for television, information technology and other communications-related industries. The company also uses advanced materials to manufacture products for scientific, semiconductor and environmental markets. Corning revenues for 2001 were $6.3 billion.