Ciena's G10 Ethernet Services Modules Achieve Outstanding Review from Broadband Gear Report.

LINTHICUM, Md. -- Ciena([R]) Corporation (NASDAQ:CIEN), the network specialist, today announced that its G10 and G10X Ethernet Service Modules received 4 out of 5 diamonds in Broadband Gear Report (BGR)'s 2008 Diamond Technology Reviews. The modules were announced earlier this year as a simple plug-and-play upgrade to Ciena's CN 4200[R] FlexSelect([TM]) Advanced Services Platform Family, enabling the delivery of Layer 2 Ethernet aggregation, switching and transport capabilities, and were among the top ranked products in this year's judging process.

Ciena's G10 and G10X modules provide network operators with a high-performance connection-oriented Ethernet solution as they look to deliver applications such as Carrier Ethernet services, broadband aggregation for triple play and IPTV services and 3G wireless backhaul. The modules optimize the cost and efficiency of network resources by requiring fewer, more-centralized routers with better port utilization, and eliminate the need for deploying standalone Ethernet switches in most aggregation sites. In addition, they enable current CN 4200 customers to quickly and economically expand the reach of Carrier Ethernet services to metro or regional locations that have CN 4200s but no carrier-grade Ethernet switches.

"Each year the Diamond Technology Reviews recognize leading products, software and services that help service providers increase the reliability, efficiency, and capacity of their networks to enhance overall customer satisfaction," said Laura Hamilton, Editor-in-Chief of BGR. "The high score rewarded to Ciena's G10 and G10X modules is proof of the solutions' ability to simplify operators' service architectures and enable more efficient deployment of high-performance applications."

The Diamond Technology Reviews are an annual product rating process where an elite group of broadband industry engineering professionals organized by BGR's editorial team analyze product applications submitted by the broadband industry's vendor community. This year the Review judges included representatives from Charter, KnowledgeLink, Suddenlink, Sunflower Broadband and Time Warner. Scores of 3 or above are considered outstanding and reflect a very positive opinion from the Review judges. The full results of the judging will be published both in BGR as well as in a special print issue to be distributed at SCTE's Cable-Tec Expo, from June 24-27, 2008 in Philadelphia, Penn.

"This positive assessment from senior technical executives is a testament to the innovation behind Ciena's G10 and G10X modules and recognizes the industry demand for solutions that can support more complex service offerings and network capacity increases," said Steve Alexander, chief technology officer at Ciena. "The G10 and G10X modules highlight Ciena's commitment to facilitating connection-oriented Ethernet, enhancing the CN 4200 family by adding packet functionality to one of the most advanced and flexible optical transport platforms on the market today."

With the G10/G10X Ethernet Service Modules, CN 4200 is the industry's only packet optical networking solution with fully integrated Layer 0 C/DWDM transport, Layer 1 OTN switching and sub-wavelength grooming, and Layer 2 Ethernet aggregation and switching - all on a single platform. Each G10/G10X Ethernet Service Module provides full 10Gbps of packet switching functionality and up to 10 ports of 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet or 1 port of 10 Gigabit Ethernet. Optimized to manage the transition from TDM-centric to packet-centric environments, the CN 4200 family includes the CN 4200 MC for edge-optimized optical services from the customer premises, the CN 4200 for aggregating services onto rings at metro hubs, and the CN 4200 RS for highly-scalable aggregation, grooming and routing of traffic at major network interconnection points.

About Broadband Gear Report (BGR)

Broadband Gear Report - www.broadbandgear.net - was launched in 2004 by Hermes Media & Research and has become the leading online product and deployment alert service for broadband engineering professionals. The Diamond Technology Reviews was launched in 2005 to answer the need for an unbiased technology review program within the broadband community. BGR is a twice-monthly emailed newsletter and website sent to over 8,000 cable broadband engineering managers in the Tier 1, Tier 2 and independent operators in the North America and Europe. Since its launch in 2004, BGR has grown by over 5,000 subscribers, and enjoys a roster of over 40 sponsors. BGR is a Hermes Media & Research publication. Tim Hermes, CEO & Publisher, and Laura Hamilton, Vice President & Editor-in-Chief, have a combined 30 years experience in broadband business-to-business publishing.

About Ciena

Ciena specializes in network transition. We provide the flexible platforms, intelligent software and professional services to build converged networks for enhanced services and applications. With a growing global presence, Ciena leverages its heritage of practical innovation to deliver maximum performance and economic value in communications networks worldwide. For more information, visit www.ciena.com.

Note to Ciena Investors

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements are based on information available to the Company as of the date hereof; and Ciena's actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied, due to risks and uncertainties associated with its business, which include the risk factors disclosed in its Report on Form 10-Q, which Ciena filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 7, 2008. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding Ciena's expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future and can be identified by forward-looking words such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "should," "will," and "would" or similar words. Ciena assumes no obligation to update the information included in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.