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CIENA Announces Contract with Digital Teleport, INC.

Ciena Corporation [NASDAQ: CIEN], today announced it has signed a contract to supply Digital Teleport, Incorporated (DTI), of St. Louis, MO., with Ciena’s MultiWaveTM 1600 system in DTI’s new St. Louis-to- Kansas City long distance fiberoptic route. Delivery and installation are scheduled for completion in the third quarter.

"Our contract with Digital Teleport, Inc. represents our first deployment of the MultiWaveTM 1600 as part of a newly built long distance fiberoptic route," said Pat Nettles, president and CEO of Ciena. "We look forward to working with our colleagues at DTI as they continue the development of their network, which will have substantially greater capacity through the deployment of our dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) system."

"This system will provide the core launching point for many of the company’s high-density bandwidth applications as our network expands in the central U.S.," said Richard D. Weinstein, CEO of Digital Teleport, Inc. "Further, it will allow DTI to provide high capacity at reasonable rates to our customers."

This application, in DTI’s network, will be the first phase of a three-cornered ring encompassing nearly the entire state of Missouri. Further expansions are contemplated into the eight adjoining states of Missouri. The route totals 250 miles, of over an additional "near term" construction of 2,000 miles for this year.

The Ciena MultiWaveTM 1600 system alleviates capacity, or bandwidth, constraints in high traffic fiberoptic routes. It can increase the carrying capacity of a single optical fiber 16 fold by allowing simultaneous transmission of up to 16 optical channels per fiber. This permits fiber currently carrying signals at transmission speeds of up to 2.5 Gb/s to carry up to 40 Gb/s. Ciena’s MultiWaveTM 1600 system includes optical transmission terminals, optical amplifiers and network management software. The system is designed with an open architecture that allows the MultiWaveTM 1600 system to interoperate with carriers’ existing fiberoptic transmission systems having a broad range of transmission speeds and signal formats.

The Company also announced that David R. Huber, Ph.D., senior vice president and chief technology officer, and a director of the Company, has resigned his positions with the Company to pursue other interests. Board chairman Jon Bayless stated, "Dr. Huber played an important role in the formation and early development of the Company, and remains a significant stockholder. We wish him well."

Digital Teleport, Inc., is a St. Louis, Missouri, based IXC and CLEC. DTI has a midwest network that provides quality "one stop shop" carrier and end-user connectivity for short haul and long haul applications. Presently, DTI’s plans include a thirteen-state expansion to provide network services in Missouri, and the additional central and upper midwest states over the next two years.

Ciena Corporation is a leading supplier of DWDM systems to long distance fiberoptic telecommunications carriers. These systems increase fiber bandwidth, can aid in improving network reliability and enhance the ability of network operators to offer new broadband services. Additional information on the Company can be found on its World Wide Web site: http//www.Ciena.com.