Ciena Introduces Ultra Long-Distance Optical Transport System.

LINTHICUM, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 23, 1999--

Optical Networking Pioneer Enhances MultiWave CoreStream and

LightWorks Architecture For Intelligent Transport Networks at

Lower Cost Per Bit

CIENA Corporation (Nasdaq: CIEN) today announced enhancements to its MultiWave CoreStream(TM) product that enable the intelligent optical transport system to offer the optimal combination of ultra long-distance transport functionality, channel count and lower network costs for service providers.

Using forward error correction (FEC), nonlinearity management and dispersion mapping technologies, plus embedded software intelligence, CoreStream will support optical spans longer than 5,000 km without additional optical-to-electrical signal regenerations. Beta trials are expected to begin in April 2000.

CIENA is the pioneer of intelligent optical transport technology with more than 6.5-million channel km of transport spans deployed in carrier networks around the world. Developed in conjunction with CIENA customers, the latest enhancements to the 2-Terabit-capacity CoreStream system optimize carriers' optical networks for capacity and distance while realizing savings up to 60 percent relative to traditional schemes on very long routes.

"Carriers are looking for smart solutions that add the most value for the money," said Steve Alexander, CIENA's chief technology officer. "In some applications, that means going longer distances, in others it means maximizing capacity, and others want a combination of these. With these enhancements, CoreStream can be tuned to meet a service provider's specific needs and thereby minimizing the cost of optical transport."

Enhancements to CoreStream will enable CIENA to dramatically increase the distance of its optical transport spans, by eliminating the need for regeneration along certain long-distance routes. In some networks, regeneration may account for up to 50 percent of the cost of transport. The combination of such technologies will enable the CoreStream to provide ultra long-distance spans at lower costs.

"Customers have indicated that the span requirements for the next generation of carrier networks range from 1,500 to 5,000 km, and the enhancements to CoreStream will scale to meet those needs," Alexander said. "For example, with the latest enhancements, CoreStream will be capable of supporting 160 channels of 10 Gigabit traffic over a span of 2,000 km without regeneration, or scaling to transport more channels or span greater distances. CIENA's philosophy is to build the network to maximize revenue-generating bandwidth based on the needs of each customer."

Two years ago, CIENA licensed a key technology that makes ultra long-distance spans routine in sub-marine transport systems. "By applying this technology and adding the intelligence of CIENA LightWorks(TM), CIENA will bring a new measure of distance to terrestrial transport networks at a lower cost per bit," Alexander said.

Enhanced LightWorks Architecture Means Smarter Networks

The enhanced MultiWave CoreStream should help carriers realize even greater economic benefits when used in conjunction with CIENA's MultiWave CoreDirector(TM) intelligent optical core switch. Together, these systems form the core of the intelligent optical network, CIENA LightWorks. LightWorks is a next-generation network architecture that allows service providers to generate new revenue streams more quickly while greatly reducing the costs of building and operating networks.

"We believe that CIENA has architected the solution to obtain the lowest cost per bit for the optical transport network," said Alexander. "CIENA's LightWorks architecture for core networks is simple: large-scale switches connected by terabit-per-second pipes over megameters - all managed by embedded software. This is the direction that we believe carriers will have to move to meet network demands in a cost effective way."

Driven by LightWorks OS(TM) software, CIENA solutions contain embedded intelligence within each network element. As a result, provisioning, protection and restoration schemes, and span management are all automated across the network for faster time-to-revenues and lower network costs.

ABOUT CIENA

CIENA Corporation's market-leading optical networking systems form the core for the new era of telecommunications networks worldwide. CIENA's LightWorks(TM) architecture 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.

NOTE TO INVESTORS

Forward-looking statements in this release, including, without limitation, information about cost savings relative to traditional schemes on very long routes, regeneration costs for a network, cost savings associated with the use of the enhancements to the CoreStream product and CIENA's belief that the LightWorks architecture results in the lowest cost per bit for the optical transport network, are based on information available to the Company as of the date hereof. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied in such forward-looking statements, due to risks and uncertainties associated with the Company's business, which include the risk factors disclosed in the Company's Post Effective Amendment No. 2 on Form S-3 to Form S-4 Registration Statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Aug. 30, 1999.