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Adelphia Deploys Ciena Optical Ethernet Platforms for Distance Learning Network

Gigabit Ethernet Used to Connect 106 School Districts across Western New York to Enable Video Conferencing, Data Networking and Other Applications

Ciena® Corporation (Nasdaq: CIEN), the network specialist, today announced that Adelphia Communications Corporation, a leading U.S. cable provider, has deployed Ciena’s optical Ethernet platforms across western New York to interconnect 106 school districts serving 189,000 students with a wide range of applications for distance learning, including video conferencing and broadband data networking.

The new applications are an initiative of the Western New York Regional Information Center (WNYRIC), a regional public education organization that delivers a variety of computer and networking services to support instructional and administrative functions of five Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) regions. The five regions served by the WNYRIC include: Cattaraugus-Allegany-Erie-Wyoming, Erie 1 BOCES, Erie 2-Chautaugua-Cattaraugus, Orleans-Niagara and Steuben-Allegany. These BOCES regions in turn provide cost-effective, shared educational programs and services to 106 school districts in seven counties, including career training for high school students, adult education and teacher training.

“Adelphia focuses on providing competitive and reliable data services to commercial, educational and institutional customers,” said Jeanne Coleman, Adelphia’s regional general manager. “WNYRIC came to us with a problem – how to provide the same educational opportunities to every student across a very large geographic region. Working with Ciena, we delivered a creative, cost-effective network solution using optical Ethernet that enables the WNYRIC to connect students and teachers into classes that span multiple counties and hundreds of miles so every student has virtually unlimited access to online resources for a full, rich curriculum.”

Adelphia is connecting 106 school districts across western New York with Gigabit Ethernet service. The deployment is based on multiple optical Ethernet platforms from Ciena, including the CN 4300 Managed Optical Services Switch; the CN 2200 Managed Optical Ethernet Multiplexer; and the CN 2101 WaveSplicer, a passive CWDM Optical Add/Drop Multiplexer hardened for outside plant locations. Over this converged, multiservice network, Adelphia will provide the WNYRIC the following applications:

• Distance learning – to connect students in multiple school districts via a virtual classroom that combines audio, video and data capabilities into a rich, interactive learning environment equivalent to all students being present in the same room.

• Internet connectivity & data networking – to be the primary connection between the school districts and the Internet for e-mail, Web and other traffic.

“Whether for entertainment, business or personal communications, video is becoming a crucial application for our customers, and distance learning and video conferencing are natural extensions of our expertise in transporting video as part of the triple play to cable subscribers,” said Steve Alexander, Ciena’s senior vice president and general manager, transport and switching and data networking groups, and chief technology officer. “We’ve built our video transport market leadership on carrier-grade optical Ethernet platforms that ensure reliability, performance and manageability – because best-effort is not good enough in the video world.”

This deployment is further evidence of Ciena’s role as a network specialist focused on helping customers maximize the business value of their networks through the deployment of high-value applications. Committed to solving today’s network challenges by specializing in industry-leading technologies tailored to meet each customer’s unique business goals, Ciena has extensive expertise in designing and scaling networks for high-bandwidth applications like video and multimedia on demand.