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CIENA Establishes Operation in China

Expands Presence in Asia

Ciena Corporation (Nasdaq:CIEN - news) today announced that it has opened a sales office in Beijing, China.

In addition, it was announced that Lin Chao will serve as the general manager for Ciena's China operation.

``China's telecommunications industry is in a period of rapid development,'' said Lin Chao. ``In 1996, over $44 billion of new contracts were awarded to build and upgrade the infrastructure of the networks in China. DWDM technology can play a role in this fast growing market and it's Ciena's goal to capture a portion of this business.''

As general manager of the China operation, Lin Chao's responsibilities will include sales, marketing and customer service for all of China. Chao has seventeen years of experience serving in various functions in both telecommunication carriers and manufacturing companies.

``Lin Chao's experience in the communications industry and his working knowledge of Asia markets will provide the leadership we believe is needed for Ciena to establish itself as one of Asia's premier vendors in the emerging next generation of broadband networks,'' said Gary Smith, vice president of Ciena's global sales organization.

Ciena's recent activities in Asia include deployment of the first 16-channel DWDM system (MultiWave(R) 1600) in Teleway's network in 1996 and deployment of the first 40-channel DWDM system (MultiWave Sentry(TM) 4000) in Japan Telecom this year. Ciena also announced the addition of a third customer in Japan, DDI.

Ciena Corporation will be demonstrating its MultiWave products in Booth No. 2434, at PT/Expo Comm China, which will be held Oct. 27-31, 1998, in Beijing, China. This tradeshow, sponsored by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) and China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), is the largest telecommunications, information technology and wireless technology exhibition and conference in Asia.