Lightower Fiber Networks Deploys 100G Services to Customers

Northeast metro fiber leader first to market in footprint with 40G and 100G Ethernet and 100G wavelengths by leveraging Ciena’s coherent transport technology

LINTHICUM, Md.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Ciena^® Corporation (NASDAQ: CIEN – News), the network specialist, today announced it has been selected by Lightower Fiber Networks, the premier metro fiber and bandwidth service provider in the Northeast, to support the delivery of Ethernet services and managed wavelengths at bandwidths up to 100 Gb/s to enterprise and service provider customers throughout Lightower’s footprint, beginning immediately. Powered by Ciena’s coherent optical technology, Lightower’s end-to-end fiber-based solutions include 40-Gigabit and 100-Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) services as well as 100G managed wavelengths.

Key Facts

• With more than 6,400 route miles of fiber providing access to over 2,800 buildings, Lightower offers state-of-the-art, all-fiber network solutions with unparalleled reliability and density throughout New England, metro New York City, New Jersey, Long Island and the Hudson Valley.
• Lightower’s new 100G solutions will leverage Ciena’s 6500 Packet-Optical Platform equipped with WaveLogic^™ coherent optical processors to enable delivery of 100G managed wavelength services, and 40 GbE and 100 GbE traffic transported over 40G/100G wavelengths. This will allow Lightower customers to seamlessly scale their networking solutions to support growing capacity demands stemming from the use of multimedia and high definition applications across many key industries including media, finance, telecom, healthcare and government.
• Lightower’s support of 40 GbE and 100 GbE services will increase the capabilities of Lightower’s Ultra-Low Latency Network that links 15 strategic interconnection facilities in the New York and New Jersey financial markets, providing industry-leading low latencies between locations.
• It will also boost the capacity of Lightower’s Managed Private Optical Network (M-PON) solutions, which are custom-designed to help large organizations in the government, financial and healthcare industries deliver bandwidth-intensive applications that may also be subject to strict regulations on storage and recovery of sensitive data.

Ciena and Lightower History:

• Lightower was among the first service providers in the Northeast to offer 40G bandwidth services using Ciena’s 6500 Packet-Optical Platform equipped with WaveLogic™ coherent optical processors. In December 2009, the companies worked together on a 100G trial spanning 600 kilometers between New York and Boston.
• Lightower also uses Ciena’s 565 Advanced Services Platform, part of Ciena’s native video transport solution, to deliver digital video transport for a major broadcast company in New York City. Ciena’s solution enables delivery of native, uncompressed high-definition video from multiple studios in real-time, simplifying production of live HDTV content while enhancing video quality.
• Lightower is a Managed Service Provider partner within Ciena’s BizConnect global partner program.

Executive Comments

• “Higher capacity bandwidth services continue to be a driver for our customer base and a natural progression as we look to advance our services to enable cutting-edge applications such as high-frequency trading, delivery of high-quality HD and 3D video, and collaborative diagnostic and healthcare services. With Ciena’s cutting edge Packet-Optical transport solutions, we are easily able to accommodate the changing needs of our customers without network disruption.”
  – Doug Dalissandro, executive vice president, sales, Lightower

• “Lightower’s success is driven by its ability to effectively scale to turn-up and transport high-bandwidth, mission critical content. We are pleased to support their aggressive network expansion across the Northeast to strengthen their ability to meet the surging demand for high-speed Ethernet services among service provider and large enterprise customers in the financial services, healthcare and video broadcast industries.”
  – Chad Whalen, vice president and general manager, North America field organization, Ciena

Technology Leadership

• Ciena’s 6500 Packet-Optical Platform converges Ethernet, TDM and WDM capabilities in a single solution for cost-effective delivery of emerging and existing services, from the access edge to the backbone core.
• Boasting years of coherent deployment experience, Ciena’s 40G/100G solutions equipped with WaveLogic coherent optical processors scale the capacity and reach of existing networks with operational simplicity. The systems also feature electronic dispersion compensation and comprehensive ROADM functionality, which combine with intelligent automation and OTN/packet switching to maximize both the bandwidth efficiency and flexibility of the overall network.
• With the ability to be deployed over any existing line system, Ciena’s 6500 supports both 40G and 100G coherent optical transmission with more than 9 million coherent kilometers deployed worldwide in all operating regions.

Ciena Supporting Resources

• Data Sheet: 6500 Packet-Optical Platform
• Application Note: Coherent Optical Processing for High-Capacity Networks
• White Paper: Key Technology Enablers of 100 Gb/s in Carrier Networks
• White Paper: Solving the 100 Gb/s Transmission Challenge
• Video: What is Coherent Optical Networking?

Lightower Supporting Resources

• Data Sheet: Lightower Wavelength Data Sheet
• Data Sheet: Lightower Ethernet Data Sheet
• Data Sheet: Lightower Video Transport Data Sheet

About Lightower Fiber Networks

Lightower Fiber Networks is the premier metro fiber and broadband service provider in the Northeast, offering over 6,400 fiber route miles coupled with comprehensive transport, alternative access, and nationwide long haul services. Lightower’s fiber footprint extends from New England, to eastern New York State, northern New Jersey, Long Island, and New York City. With access to over 2,800 buildings, Lightower offers unparalleled regional density, performance, scalability, security, and reliability in the Northeast. Lightower Fiber Networks is headquartered in Boxborough, MA. For more information, visit www.lightower.com, email info@lightower.com, or call 888-LT-FIBER.

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 compete. With focused innovation, Ciena brings together the reliability and capacity of optical networking with the flexibility and economics of Ethernet, unified by a software suite 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, visitwww.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-K, which Ciena filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 22, 2011. 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.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50129616&lang=en

MULTIMEDIA AVAILABLE:http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50129616&lang=en

PR Archives: Latest, By Company, By Date