Racal Telecom Awards $15Million Contract to CIENA
Linthicum, MD — 06/18/1998Ciena Corporation (Nasdaq: CIEN) today announced that Racal Telecom has chosen Ciena's MultiWave Sentry™ and MultiWave Firefly™ dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) systems for immediate deployment in its network. The initial value of the contract is estimated at approximately $15 million with the potential for additional deployments in the future as Racal Telecom's network expands.
"Racal selected Ciena's DWDM products because they were clearly the best in the marketplace" said Bob Falconer, Racal Telecom network director. "We also wanted a product that was well proven in other networks with high reliability. Ciena's extensive field experience and customer support were also major factors in our decision."
Racal Telecom is one of Europe's leading providers of managed network services to organizations primarily in the government, transportation, retail, financial services and manufacturing sectors. The company operates a UK-wide telecommunications infrastructure providing the transmission, switching and network management facilities that are required to deliver its range of managed voice, data, mobile, messaging and Internet services. Racal Telecom also provides managed transatlantic services through a joint venture with the US carrier Metromedia Fiber Network, Inc.
"The addition of Racal Telecom to our customer base is another indication of the growing demand for bandwidth in Europe," said Patrick Nettles, Ciena's president and chief executive officer. "It's also evidence of the spreading acceptance of DWDM as an efficient and economical way to increase network capacity."
Deployment of Ciena's equipment in Racal Telecom's network will begin immediately. Commercial traffic is expected on the network by this fall.
Ciena specializes in network transition. We provide the flexible platforms, intelligent software and professional services to build converged networks for enhanced services and applications. With a growing global presence, Ciena leverages its heritage of practical innovation to deliver maximum performance and economic value in communications networks worldwide. For more information, visit www.ciena.com.
Forward-looking statements in this release, including statements regarding the expectation of growing demand for bandwidth in Europe, as well as spreading acceptance of DWDM as an efficient and economical way to increase network capacity, 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 by such forward-looking statements, due to risks and uncertainties associated with the Company's dependence on its major customers and their spending patterns, including specifically the impact on the Company's near term operating results of WorldCom's recently announced change in purchasing practices, the challenge of transitioning to the manufacture of multiple product lines in fiscal 1998, and the overall management of its expansion. The risks associated with the recently announced merger with Tellabs may also affect actual results. The forward-looking statements should be considered in the context of these and other risk factors disclosed in the Company's Form 10-Q, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 21, 1998.
Nicole Anderson
Ciena Corporation
(877) 857 -7377
pr@ciena.com
Marie Downing
Ciena Corporation
(888) 243-6223
ir@ciena.com
