NEW CONTRACT(perhaps 1 of 2 mentioned in the CC as being under
discussion):
COMTEX) CIENA and Cable & Wireless Communications Complete
Europe's Largest DWDM Network; Announce Plans for Second UK
Installation
LINTHICUM, MD. (Feb. 25) BUSINESS WIRE -Feb. 25, 1998--CIENA
Corporation (Nasdaq: CIEN) today announced that Cable & Wireless
Communications, the United Kingdom's first integrated
telecommunications and multi-media service provider, has completed
deployment of the largest dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM)
network in Europe.
CIENA's MultiWave Sentry(tm) has been installed and is now carrying
live commercial traffic between the United States and mainland Europe
through the UK.
CIENA also announced it has been awarded a second contract from Cable &
Wireless Communications for equipment deployment in its Germany 6
project. In a second UK installation, CIENA's 16-channel MultiWave
Sentry systems, complete with WaveWatcher(R) Network Management
software, will be deployed along four interconnected routes within
Cable & Wireless' Germany 6 project, now under construction. Equipment
installation in the backhaul routes for international voice and data
traffic received from transatlantic fiber optic cables between London
and Germany is expected to begin during the first calendar quarter of
1998.
The deployment of CIENA's MultiWave Sentry allows Cable & Wireless
Communications to multiply by 16 times its fiber optic network
capacity, reducing the expense of laying new cable as well as
eliminating the use of costly regenerators. It also provides Cable &
Wireless with the most advanced technology available today for fiber
optic networks, and places Cable & Wireless clearly on the path toward
optical networking.
"The enhanced bandwidth afforded by CIENA's equipment has been a
critical component in the successful deployment of Cable & Wireless'
backbone for its GEMINI project," stated Mark Heraghty, managing
director of Cable & Wireless Communications' International and Partner
Services Business Unit. "The capacity required by the Germany 6 routes
represent another ideal application of CIENA's DWDM technology."
"Deregulation has raised the stakes for international service
providers, creating the need for more apparent service
differentiation," said Gary Smith, CIENA's vice president,
international sales. "With rising demand for more bandwidth-hungry
applications on capacity constrained networks, the rapid and economical
access to greater bandwidth offered by CIENA's MultiWave Sentry gives
Cable & Wireless Communications a significant competitive advantage."
NOTE TO INVESTORS
Forward-looking statements in this release, including statements
regarding the expected timing of installation of CIENA's equipment in
the Germany 6 project during the first calendar quarter is 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 by such forward-looking statements, due to risks and
uncertainties associated with the Company's dependence on its major
customers and their spending patterns, the challenge of transitioning
to the manufacture of multiple product lines in fiscal 1998, and the
overall management of its expansion. The forward-looking statements
should be considered in the context of these and other risk factors
disclosed in the Company's Form 10-Q, filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission on February 19, 1998. ABOUT CIENA
CIENA Corporation is a worldwide market leader of open architecture,
dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) systems for long-distance
and local exchange carriers. CIENA's DWDM solutions include the
MultiWave(tm) 1600 long-haul transport system, WaveWatcher(R) network
management software, the MultiWave Optical Add/Drop Multiplexer, the
MultiWave Sentry(tm) enhanced long-distance transport system and the
new MultiWave Firefly(tm) and MultiWave Metro(tm) short-haul systems.
An optical fiber without DWDM technology carries a single color of
laser light, or a single wavelength, on which travels approximately 32,
000 voice or data transmissions. DWDM technology divides the single
color into multiple colors or channels, thereby multiplying the
capacity of the fiber by the number of channels. This enables service
providers to expand bandwidth without the expensive process of adding
more fibers. With CIENA's new MultiWave Firefly, existing capacity of a
fiber will increase by 24 times, which equates to 768,000 voice or data
transmissions. ABOUT CABLE & WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS
Cable & Wireless Communications is the newly formed communications
company comprising Bell Cablemedia, Mercury Communications, NYNEX and
Videotron. Cable & Wireless Communications is the UK operating arm of
Cable & Wireless plc.
Cable & Wireless is one of the world's leading providers of
international telecommunications services. Its businesses provide over
10 million customers in over 50 countries with a complete range of
international, domestic and mobile communications. Cable & Wireless is
the world's third largest carrier of international traffic, provides
mobile communications in 30 countries and operates the world's largest,
most advanced cableship fleet.
-0- db/ny*
CONTACT: Investor Contact:
CIENA Corporation
Suzanne DuLong, 888/243-6223
email: ir@CIENA.com
Press Contact:
CIENA Corporation Denny Bilter, 800/921-1144
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