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CIENA'S LIGHTWORKS SOLUTIONS TO SUPPORT QWEST COMMUNICATIONS' ALL-OPTICAL NATIONWIDE NETWORK

Qwest Communications, CIENA Enter Supply Agreement for CIENA LightWorks Optical Networking Solutions

Ciena Corporation (CIEN) today announced that Qwest Communications, the broadband Internet communications company, has signed a comprehensive supply agreement to purchase systems from the Ciena LightWorks™ suite of optical networking solutions. The multi-year agreement enables Qwest to purchase Ciena's MultiWave CoreStream™ and MultiWave Metro™ intelligent optical transport systems as well as Ciena's MultiWave CoreDirector™ intelligent optical core switch.

Qwest has satisfactorily tested, ordered and deployed Ciena's CoreStream solutions for long-haul optical transport in its core network and Ciena's Metro solutions for optical transport as part of its Qwest Link metropolitan network buildout.

"We're turning to Ciena for a set of optical networking solutions that helps add strategic value to our broadband network and services," said Augie Cruciotti, senior vice president of Qwest Link. "As we build our local broadband access networks and the industry's first all-optical, coast-to-coast network, real-world solutions from industry innovators like Ciena will enable us to deliver the advanced optical services that give Qwest customers a competitive edge."

Ciena LightWorks

Ciena's LightWorks architecture is a comprehensive blueprint for building intelligent optical networks. It extends integrated capabilities in optical transport, core switching and multi-service access technologies through software-driven intelligence embedded throughout the optical layer. Ciena's recently unveiled LightWorks Toolkit™ leverages intellectual property in optics, software and ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits) to enable carriers like Qwest to offer dynamic broadband services and handle real-time service provisioning and prioritization.

"The role of Ciena's LightWorks architecture is not only to supply network capacity, but more importantly, to build intelligence into the network to turn additional bandwidth into new revenue-producing services," said Gary Smith, Ciena's chief operating officer. "LightWorks solutions offer Qwest important operational and economic advantages. With Ciena's full suite of intelligent optical products as part of its solution, Qwest will be able to deliver and manage the leading-edge broadband services that define its leadership in the marketplace."

Long-Haul Optical Transport

Ciena's MultiWave CoreStream intelligent optical transport systems will provide Qwest with an OC-192 (10Gbps) long-haul optical platform that offers built-in networking intelligence through Ciena's SmartSpan™ software for automatic provisioning. The scalability and density of the CoreStream system further Qwest's all-optical strategy by eliminating SONET/SDH equipment in the network core and by providing the market's highest capacity optical connections. In turn, the simplified intelligent network will also speed time-to-market for Qwest's broadband Internet applications and services by simplifying and automating bandwidth provisioning.

Metropolitan Applications

MultiWave Metro offers built-in carrier-class, ring-based protection with the ability to support SONET/SDH, IP, ATM, Gigabit Ethernet and private line high-bandwidth services. Utilizing all-optical protection and transport for metropolitan networks without any intervening SONET gear, MultiWave Metro is a key step in the migration to simpler, more cost-effective, end-to-end networks.

By bringing the scalability and survivability of the optical layer to metropolitan networks, Ciena's MultiWave Metro supports delivery of Qwest's broadband access services. Metro's ability to drop any wavelength at any location enables the system to support a variety of virtual networks efficiently on a single fiber pair. Qwest is deploying Ciena's Metro solution as part of its local broadband access networks currently being built in 25 major metropolitan markets in the U.S.

Core Switching Features

Ciena's MultiWave CoreDirector is the industry's first intelligent optical core switch. CoreDirector's market-leading density, scalability, range of optical interfaces, and software-definable switching granularity, eliminate the need for additional SONET/SDH add/drop multiplexers, digital cross-connects, and optical cross-connects in next-generation network architectures. Embedded, distributed software serves as the intelligent optical network core enabling automated protection and restoration schemes and dynamic information exchange between networked CoreDirectors. In real time, each CoreDirector is able to evaluate the state of the network and select the best path for traffic to travel across the network to its destination.