CABLE & WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS SELECTS CIENA'S MULTIWAVE SENTRY™ 4000 FOR DEPLOYMENT
Linthicum, MD — 11/12/1998Ciena Corporation (Nasdaq: CIEN) today announced that Cable & Wireless Communications has selected its MultiWave Sentry™ 4000 dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) equipment for deployment in its network in early 1999. An $16 million order has already been placed in connection with this next phase of its network buildout.
"Ciena's 16-channel MultiWave Sentry is a critical component to the success of our international connectivity via systems including Gemini, Solas and UK Germany 6," said Mark Heraghty, managing director of Cable & Wireless' International and Partner Services Business Unit. "The move to the 40-channel MultiWave Sentry is a natural progression in response to continued growth in demand for high bandwidth services."
The MultiWave Sentry 4000 provides the most advanced technology deployed in fiber optic networks today. The system increases the potential capacity of a single fiber by 40 times, thereby enabling more than 1,200,000 voice/internet connections at a fraction of the cost of deploying new fiber. The MultiWave Sentry 4000 is scalable on a channel-by-channel basis from 40 channels, or 100 Gb/s, to 96 channels, or 240 Gb/s, which enables Cable & Wireless Communications to protect its investment in its existing fiber-optic network and expand capacity in the future. Such a capability will enable the carrier to deliver high-performance solutions more efficiently and at lower cost.
"Cable & Wireless Communications' selection of the Multiwave Sentry 4000 demonstrates Ciena's ability to deliver commercial products that are reliable and field-proven," said Guy Powell, Ciena's managing director in Europe. "Our worldwide experience in deploying DWDM systems continues to be a major factor in Ciena's success in Europe."
Cable & Wireless Communications is currently using Ciena's DWDM equipment to carry live traffic between the United States and mainland Europe through the UK and has also deployed the 16-channel MultiWave Sentry along four interconnected routes within the carrier's Germany 6 project. Cable & Wireless Communications was the first carrier in Europe to deploy DWDM in 1997 and currently has the largest live DWDM network in Europe.
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.
Cable & Wireless is one of the worlds leading providers of integrated communications and a major global carrier of communications traffic: Internet, data, voice and video. Its businesses around the world offer a range of services spanning interactive entertainment and information, broadband data, Internet access and broadcast television, as well as fixed and mobile voice. With 17 million customers in 70 countries, Cable & Wireless is one of the worlds largest carriers of international traffic, provides mobile communications in more than 30 countries and operates the worlds largest, most advanced cable ship fleet.
Cable & Wireless Communications is the largest provider of integrated telecommunications and television entertainment services in the United Kingdom. The company serves customers nationally with a broad range of facilities-based network services including local, national and International voice, data and Internet services, and in certain regions, multichannel television and, through resale, mobile telecommunications services. Cable & Wireless Communications is one of the largest carriers of wholesale telecommunications traffic in the United Kingdom and the ninth largest carrier of international traffic in the world.
Forward-looking statements in this release 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 business, which include the risk factors disclosed in the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 14, 1998.
Nicole Anderson
Ciena Corporation
(877) 857 -7377
pr@ciena.com
Marie Downing
Ciena Corporation
(888) 243-6223
ir@ciena.com
