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Ciena and Broadwing Announce Settlement of Litigation

Ciena® Corporation (NASDAQ: CIEN), the network specialist, and Broadwing Corporation (NASDAQ: BWNG), a leading provider of optical network communications services and solutions, today announced that the companies have reached an amicable settlement of their patent infringement litigation.

Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Ciena and Broadwing have agreed to dismiss all claims.  In addition, Broadwing will pay to Ciena $35.0 million dollars in three equal annual installments.  $33.0 million dollars of Broadwing’s total payment may be used as credits toward the purchase of Ciena equipment and services at market prices over the next three and one-half years, in order to help continue to maintain, build and enhance the Broadwing network.  Ciena will recognize revenue on these purchases in accordance with contractually agreed-upon terms.  Additional terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
 
“The amicable resolution of this outstanding issue allows us to concentrate the full force of our resources on building our business and further increasing the momentum we reported in our fourth quarter and year end 2004 results,” said Dr. David R. Huber, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Broadwing.  “We currently use Ciena equipment in our network, and are pleased to continue our relationship with this respected network vendor.”

Gary B. Smith, Ciena’s chief executive officer and president, echoed this sentiment, stating, “Broadwing has and will continue to be a valued Ciena customer.  We’re pleased to have reached a resolution of this matter and will concentrate our forward efforts on delivering the application-focused network solutions that will enable Broadwing to provide differentiated services to its customers.”