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Monday June 8, 12:46 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Ciena Introduces MultiWave Metro-tm
Flexible Access Product Makes High Bandwidth Services Affordable For the
Local Loop
LINTHICUM, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 8, 1998--CIENA Corporation (NASDAQ:
CIEN - news) today announced the introduction of the MultiWave Metro(tm) dense wavelength
division multiplexing (DWDM) system for metropolitan and local access applications.
CIENA will demonstrate MultiWave Metro at SUPERCOMM in Atlanta, Georgia, June 9-11,
1998 (Booth no. 4623 - Hall D). CIENA also announced that it will be conducting live
demonstrations of MultiWave Metro's ability to interface directly to several types of SONET/SDH,
ATM and IP equipment.
Multiwave Metro is a DWDM access transport system for use in metropolitan ring applications. It
enables carriers to offer multi-protocol high-bandwidth services economically using their existing
network infrastructure. In this product, the network capacity available through the bandwidth
expansion possibilities of DWDM brings increased flexibility to service provisioning on a
customer-by-customer basis.
''CIENA's introduction of the MultiWave Metro product gives carriers the capability to simplify
networks and offer high-speed data services without sacrificing reliability,'' said Patrick Nettles,
CIENA's president and chief executive officer. ''The flexibility of this product also removes the
uncertainty for incumbent and emerging carriers by allowing them to rapidly support new services.''
MultiWave Metro
CIENA's MultiWave Metro will be deployed as a series of optical add/drop multiplexer nodes
connected by a two fiber ring. It provides up to 24 duplex channels over a single fiber pair, enabling
up to 120 Gb/s of traffic.
The MultiWave Metro supports various network topologies, protocols and protection arrangements
all on the same fiber pair and in the same node. Its standards-based, open architecture allows
Metro to interface easily with all types of SONET/SDH, ATM and Fast IP equipment as well as
most embedded network management systems. To ensure network reliability, Metro provides
protection switching on signals where external protection, such as SONET protection, is not
provided.
''The flexibility of the DWDM technology in MultiWave Metro makes it possible for a service
provider to provide Customer A with ATM service on one wavelength, IP service to Customer B
on a second wavelength and OC-48 SONET service to a third customer on yet another
wavelength,'' said Jesus Leon, CIENA's vice president of product development. ''MultiWave
Metro has the potential to change a carriers' economic model for provisioning services at the local
loop.''
MultiWave Metro is expected to be commercially available during the second half of 1998.
SuperComm Demonstration
CIENA's new MultiWave Metro will be demonstrated in the CIENA booth (no. 4623-Hall D) at
the SUPERCOMM tradeshow being held in the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta,
Georgia, from June 9-11, 1998.
Metro along with CIENA's MultiWave Sentry(tm), MultiWave(R) Firefly and WaveWatcher(R)
will be displayed at the show.
A live interoperable-product demonstration also will be conducted between CIENA's DWDM
products and Cisco Systems, Inc. GSR 12000 Gigabit Switch Router (GSR) and the BPX ATM
switch interfacing IP and ATM directly to DWDM transport. In addition, Advanced Fibre
Communications [Nasdaq:AFCI - news] will interface its next generation digital loop carrier
(NGDLC) product demonstrating the SONET/SDH capability. This interoperability demonstration
between various vendors and multiple architectures will give attendees at the show a chance to
observe the latest developments in DWDM.
NOTE TO INVESTORS
Forward-looking statements in this release, including statements regarding the status of and beliefs,
expectations and intentions regarding MultiWave Metro, 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 by such forward-looking statements, due to risks and uncertainties associated with
the Company's dependence on its major customers and their spending patterns, including
specifically the impact on the Company's near term operating results of WorldCom's recently
announced change in purchasing practices, the challenge of transitioning to the manufacture of
multiple product lines in fiscal 1998, and the overall management of its expansion. The risks
associated with the recently announced merger with Tellabs may also affect actual results. 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
May 21, 1998.
ABOUT CIENA
Based in Linthicum, Maryland, 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(R) 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(R) Firefly and MultiWave Metro(tm) short-haul systems. Through its Alta subsidiary,
based in Norcross, GA, CIENA provides a range of engineering, furnishing and installation (EF&I)
services for telecommunications service providers in the areas of transport, switching and wireless
communications.
CIENA's DWDM equipment expands the carrying capacity of fiber optic networks by dividing the
optical signal into several separate optical channels or wavelengths. 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. CIENA's DWDM technology divides the single
wavelength into multiple colors, or channels, thereby multiplying the capacity of the fiber by the
number of channels and enabling service providers to expand bandwidth without the expensive
process of adding more fibers.
On June 3, 1998, CIENA announced an agreement to merge with Tellabs, Inc. Details regarding
the merger can be found in the Company's Form 8-K Report, filed with the SEC on June 3, 1998.
Additional information about CIENA can be found on its World Wide Website:
ciena.com.
Contact:
CIENA Corporation
Press Contacts: Denny Bilter
(800) 921-1144
marketing@ciena.com
or
Investor Contact: Suzanne DuLong
(888) 243-6223
ir@ciena.com |
