GTS TO DEPLOY CIENA'S OC-192 MULTIWAVE CORESTREAM CREATING ONE OF EUROPE'S LARGEST OPTICAL NETWORKS
Global TeleSystems To Invest Approximately $100 Million In CIENA's Open-Standards CoreStream Systems For Its Trans-European Network
Linthicum, MD — 03/16/2000Ciena Corporation (CIEN) today announced that Global TeleSystems (GTS) (NYSE: GTS; Easdaq: GTSG; Frankfurt: GTS) will deploy Ciena's MultiWave CoreStream™ intelligent optical transport systems in its trans-European optical fiber network. The deployment of Ciena's open-architecture CoreStream systems for OC-192 transmission (10Gbps), which is scalable up to 96 channels per fiber pair, will enable GTS to continue offering one of the largest, highest capacity IP and broadband networks across Europe.
GTS anticipates placing orders for Ciena systems valued at approximately $100 million for the build-out of its network.
"GTS connects more cities in more countries across Europe, seamlessly delivering more IP, data and broadband traffic than any other operator," said Jim Reynolds, president of GTS Network Services. "Our Internet and borderless broadband businesses are flourishing, and we have made another substantial investment in our trans-European network to stay on the leading edge of capacity, speed and manageability. The scalability and intelligence that Ciena adds to our core network are two of the most important factors keeping GTS ahead of the curve."
Ciena's CoreStream systems will be deployed as an overbuild to GTS's existing trans-European network, providing IP and bandwidth services across Europe and carrying most of the traffic generated from GTS's e*Business sales force in more than 80 cities. With points of presence in more than 50 European cities, the GTS network currently carries high-speed Internet, video, data and voice traffic for more than 150 international carriers, Internet service providers, broadcasters, multinationals and dot coms.
"The GTS contract is a big win for Ciena and reinforces its strong position in the European market," said Stéphane Téral, RHK's analyst covering European telecom markets. "RHK's research shows Ciena as the 1999 co-market leader in Europe."
With Ciena's CoreStream systems, GTS will realize the fast service delivery that Ciena's intelligent network management and reliability bring to the extensive GTS network. Ciena embeds SmartSpan™ software in each CoreStream element so that the systems know when and where new service is to be added and automatically adjust for faster provisioning at a lower cost than traditional network architectures.
"Working together to build an intelligent optical network of this size and capacity is a tremendous win for both GTS and Ciena," said Gary Smith, Ciena's chief operating officer. "GTS is one of the world's premier network operators, and it is our privilege to provide next-generation infrastructure that will take its network to an even higher level."
The MultiWave CoreStream is capable of up to 48 channels at 10Gbps and is scalable up to 96 channels at 10 gigabits per second over a single fiber pair.
Ciena Corporation's market-leading optical networking systems form the core for the new era of networks and services worldwide. Ciena's LightWorks™ architecture enables next-generation optical services and changes the fundamental economics of service-provider networks by simplifying the network and reducing the cost to operate it. Additional information about Ciena can be found at http://www.ciena.com.
GTS is the leading provider of e*Business and borderless broadband services across Europe. The company provides businesses and carriers in 20 European countries with a range of broadband, Internet/IP and voice services. As an industry leader in Europe, the company has the largest cross-border fiber optic network; the largest Tier-1 IP backbone; the most widely deployed pan-European e*Business sales and service staff; and the largest pan-European customer base. GTS's network-the first and most extensive trans-European broadband fiber network-includes points of presence in over 50 European cities and stretches across nearly 17,000 route kilometers, with five city enterprise networks (CENs) providing local connectivity and plans for a total of 16 CENs. GTS has also announced plans to build an advanced trans-Atlantic dual-cable system in a joint venture with FLAG Telecom. Headquartered in the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area and with European headquarters in London, GTS has offices in over 80 cities.
Forward-looking statements in this release, including, but not limited to, the size of the potential purchases by GTS, the size of the GTS network, and the capacity, cost, deployment and network management benefits of the Company's products, 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 in such forward-looking statements, due to risks and uncertainties associated with the Company's business, which include the risk factors disclosed in the Company's Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 17, 2000.
Nicole Anderson
Ciena Corporation
(877) 857 -7377
pr@ciena.com
Marie Downing
Ciena Corporation
(888) 243-6223
ir@ciena.com
