Creates scalable, flexible 100G and OTN powered network to meet customer needs for high-capacity, low-latency services

Ciena® Corporation (NASDAQ: CIEN), the network specialist, and Retelit Spa, a leading Italian provider of data services and infrastructure, have announced the deployment of Ciena’s converged packet optical solutions to modernize Retelit’s network and improve efficiency, latency and scalability. By deploying this high-performance, low-latency network in its backbone and throughout metropolitan locations, Retelit can offer a range of new services and support key applications like high-frequency trading, e-healthcare and replication of real-time data.

With high-performance capacity scalable to 100G per wavelength serving heavily utilized backbone routes and eight metropolitan networks in major Italian cities, Retelit can provide its wholesale, enterprise and public sector customers with the increased network capacity and flexibility needed to meet subscribers’ needs. The initial phase of the project, upgrading the backbone from Milan to Rome, is expected to be implemented by the end of October; the remaining network upgrades will be completed in future phases.

Powered by Ciena’s industry-leading 6500 Packet-Optical Platform, equipped with third generation WaveLogic Coherent Optical Processors and the unique feature of integrated packet switching and traffic management alongside Optical Transport Network (OTN) transport solutions, Retelit will be able to tailor service level agreements to meet each customer’s specific requirements. With the improved efficiencies of the new network, Retelit will be able to expand to reach more customers, and offer data transport speeds up to 10 times faster than what is available on the network today.

Additionally, Ciena’s One Control Unified Management System will provide comprehensive unified management, visualization and end-to-end control of the network. This will allow Retelit to rapidly deploy new service offerings, and coordinate across network protocol layers to ensure efficient use of critical network assets and bandwidth optimization.

“Ciena’s converged packet optical solutions will enable us to reduce the complexities in our network, while exponentially increasing the capacity to meet the growing market demand caused by the dramatically rising use of high-capacity broadband services and technologies. We selected Ciena because of its proven track record and expertise in equipping service providers to modernize their networks and accommodate user’s demands for high-bandwidth services and applications like high-frequency trading and e-healthcare applications,” states Enrico Mondo, General Manager at Retelit.

“Demand for bandwidth is continuing to increase at a rapid pace, and service providers need a flexible, scalable infrastructure in place to help their customers meet this demand. We are very pleased to be working with Retelit to deploy our OPⁿ architecture and industry-leading packet-optical solutions to modernize its network to not only meet current and future capacity demands, but also provide customers with a low-latency network for mission-critical, time-sensitive data transmission,” said Virginie Hollebecque, Regional Managing Director, South Europe, Mediterranean Countries and Africa at Ciena.

About RetelitWith over 7,600 kilometers of optical fibre, 8 metropolitan networks and 18 Data Centers, Retelit is one of Italy's leading providers of data services and infrastructures on the telecommunications market. From 2011, Retelit has extended its services into complementary markets, such as ICT, thanks to the more than 16,000 square metres it has equipped to house cloud computing solutions. The group holds the 3.5 GHz frequency usage rights for the centre and north of Italy, used in the sector of the WiMAX services. Since 2000 Retelit has been listed on the electronic share market (MTA) of the Milan Stock Exchange.

About Ciena
Ciena is the network specialist. We collaborate with customers worldwide to unlock the strategic potential of their networks and fundamentally change the way they perform and compete. Ciena leverages its deep expertise in packet and optical networking and distributed software automation to deliver solutions in alignment with OPⁿ, its approach for building open next-generation networks. We enable a high-scale, programmable infrastructure that can be controlled and adapted by network-level applications, and provide open interfaces to coordinate computing, storage and network resources in a unified, virtualized environment. For updates on Ciena news, follow us on Twitter @Ciena or on LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/company/ciena. Investors are encouraged to review the Investors section of our website at www.ciena.com/investors, where we routinely post press releases, SEC filings, recent news, financial results, and other announcements. From time to time we exclusively post material information to this website along with other disclosure channels that we use.

Note to Ciena Investors
Forward-looking statements. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements are based on information available to the Company as of the date hereof; and Ciena's actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied, due to risks and uncertainties associated with its business, which include the risk factors disclosed in its Report on Form 10-Q, which Ciena filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 12, 2013. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding Ciena's expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future and can be identified by forward-looking words such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "should," "will," and "would" or similar words. Ciena assumes no obligation to update the information included in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.