Ciena Adds Experienced Industry Veteran to Government Advisory Board.

LINTHICUM, Md. -- Ciena([R]) Corporation (NASDAQ:CIEN), the network specialist, today announced the appointment of Richard F. Kent to its Government Advisory Board. Mr. Kent joins other respected senior-level executives and former government officials on the Board, which provides guidance to Ciena on strategically aligning its solutions and services to better serve the unique application requirements of the government marketplace.

Mr. Kent currently serves as CEO of Fedforce, LLC, a consultancy specializing in sales and marketing to the enterprise and federal marketplaces. He has more than 25 years of experience with high-technology firms, and has held various senior executive positions at FORE Systems/Marconi including President, Federal Operations and Executive Vice President, Americas. Mr. Kent holds a B.S. degree in Computer Science from the University of Maryland, and holds an MBA from Loyola Sellinger School of Business.

"Ciena is recognized by the government community as the network specialist, because it has the expertise and in-depth knowledge needed to provide government organizations with the flexible, assured and secure platforms they need to run large-scale applications," said Richard Kent. "I'm thrilled to be a part of the Government Advisory Board, and look forward to helping facilitate constructive relationships with our government customers as they embark on demanding network builds."

The Government Advisory Board provides counsel to Ciena Government Solutions, Inc. (CGSI) on the expansion of business with the Department of Defense (DoD), as well as for opportunities with both civilian agencies and research and education organizations. Ciena utilizes the knowledge and insight provided by the Board to drive timely market and technology decisions to fuel the Company's business and product strategies in the complex and growing government market.

"CGSI is increasingly devoted to delivering global network solutions that transform critical infrastructure, provide assured connectivity for strategic applications, and decrease network cost and complexity," said David Peed, vice president and managing director of CGSI. "We are very pleased to have Mr. Kent's expertise and guidance on our Government Advisory Board as we continue to advance our government business."

Other members of the Board include Patrick Nettles, Ph.D., executive chairman of the board of directors and co-founder of Ciena; the Honorable Arthur A. Money, former Department of Defense (DoD) Chief Information Officer (CIO); Lt. Gen. Kenneth A. Minihan, former director of the National Security Agency; Larry D. Spilman, former Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of AT&T's Federal sector; and Sandra N. Bates, former Commissioner of the Federal Technology Service (FTS).

Ciena in Government

Ciena's demonstrated record of excellence and superior customer satisfaction in the government sector is evidenced in its support of the Defense Information Systems Agency's (DISA) Defense Information Systems Network (DISN), the Department of Energy's UltraScience Net, and additional deployments across federal agencies. Ciena also recently partnered with Internet2 to support its next-generation nationwide research and education network. Ciena's FlexSelect([TM]) Architecture allows agencies and government solution providers to create assured networks that mitigate risk, consolidate networks and provide high-performance network connectivity--meeting the requirements of emerging agency applications.

About Ciena

Ciena Corporation is the network specialist, focused on expanding the possibilities for its customers' networks while reducing their cost of ownership. The company's systems, software and services target and cure specific network pain points so that telcos, cable operators, governments and enterprises can best exploit the new applications that are driving their businesses forward. 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-K, which Ciena filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 2, 2007. 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.