Ciena® Corporation (NASDAQ: CIEN), the network specialist, today announced that Sprint is upgrading its optical backbone network with Ciena’s 6500 Packet-Optical Platform. The updated network, powered exclusively by Ciena, will enable Sprint to enhance transport network scalability, cost and performance. It will also enable Sprint to support growing demand for wireless and wireline high-speed data service offerings, reaching core network speeds of 40G and 100G today with the ability to scale to 400G and beyond in the future.

Key Facts:

• By deploying Ciena’s 6500 Packet Optical Platform with WaveLogic™ coherent technology, Sprint can easily increase network capacity – ensuring the ability to add 100G wavelengths, 400G wavelengths and beyond – without the need for a major network redesign. Additionally, the 6500 supports multiple chassis sizes to cost-effectively address transport requirements from the edge to the core across a single converged infrastructure.
• Sprint and Ciena are planning a 400G field trial for early 2013. The trial will enable Sprint to check the feasibility of using 400 Gbps channels on systems already carrying live customer traffic, and to demonstrate that the network will be able to support very high-speed traffic needs in the future on the existing fiber plant.
• Ciena has been a strategic supplier to Sprint since 1998. This upgrade builds on Sprint’s existing deployments of Ciena’s CoreStream Agility Optical Transport Systems. Sprint is also using Ciena’s OneControl Unified Management System for centralized network management, and Ciena Specialist Services to help minimize implementation costs and ensure that the network is turned up efficiently and effectively.

Executive Comments:

• “Sprint, like Ciena, has viewed the use of advanced fiber optics as a strategic resource from its early days; however the conversation around end-user benefits has evolved from the sound quality of voice networks to the need for massively scalable data service networks. Today’s service provider needs an unconstrained network to support the exponential data growth, while leveraging existing hardware and fiber investments. Ciena’s coherent optical technology provides Sprint with the resources to bridge this gap, while enabling a seamless path to deliver next-generation data services.”
  - Philippe Morin, Senior VP of Global Field Operations, Ciena

• “As a long-time partner to Sprint, Ciena has proven itself to be a strategic, innovative provider of technology that allows us to enhance the capacity and flexibility of our network. With its industry-leading coherent optical technology, we are able to expand our network to address growing demand for high-speed data services today, with a built-in path to deliver higher-speed data services in the future.”
  - Iyad Tarazi, VP of Network Development & Engineering, Sprint

Supporting Resources:

• Data Sheet: 6500 Packet-Optical Platform
• Application Note: Enabling a Bigger and Smarter Network with Ciena’s WaveLogic 3
• Datasheet: OneControl Unified Management System
• Video: What is Coherent Optical Networking?

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. With focused innovation, Ciena brings together the reliability and capacity of optical networking with the flexibility and economics of Ethernet, unified by services and software that delivers the industry’s leading network automation. We routinely post recent news, financial results and other important announcements and information about Ciena on our website. For more information, visit www.ciena.com.

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 6, 2012. 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.