Mass Broadband Institute Deploys First Segment of State Broadband Network with Ciena

Once completed, stimulus-funded network, MassBroadband 123, will support 1,400 community anchor institutions across central and western Massachusetts

HANOVER, Md. — 05/1/2013

Ciena^® Corporation (NASDAQ:CIEN, news, filings), the network specialist, today announced that the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) is deploying Ciena’s 6500 Packet-Optical Platform, equipped with WaveLogic Coherent Optical Processors, to provide high-speed, high-capacity 40G connectivity—with  the potential to reach 100G speeds— across 120 communities in western and central Massachusetts, as part of a planned state-wide optical network. Funded by a combination of federal and state investment, the new network will provide direct connections to schools, hospitals, libraries and public safety facilities that currently lack reliable, affordable Internet services.

Key Facts:

• The new optical network, MassBroadband 123, will provide residents and businesses in Massachusetts with advanced connectivity requirements to close the digital divide and bring new economic opportunities on a converged network. Through a $45.4 million grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), and $26.2 million from statewide resources, the MassBroadband 123 project, stretching 1,200 miles and over 120 communities, will serve approximately 1,400 public safety entities, community colleges, libraries, medical facilities and town halls.   

• Along with community anchor institutions, Ciena’s 6500 equipped with coherent optical technology will allow the MBI to provide cost-effective, high-performance optical transport to support commercial entities and competitive last mile service providers throughout underserved areas of the state. The MBI will be able to easily scale capacity and program its network to deliver 40G wavelength services upon completion of the MassBroadband 123 project, with the ability to scale to 100G and higher in the future to satisfy the region’s 330,500 households and 44,000 businesses.

• This deployment aligns with OPⁿ, Ciena’s approach for building open, programmable next-generation networks that scale and automatically adapt to quickly deliver new services and bandwidth.

• OpenCape, a 350-mile fiber optic network across Southeastern Massachusetts is also using Ciena coherent optical transport and packet networking solutions. Once fully deployed, these networks will combine to deliver robust and reliable service from the New York border to Cape Cod.

• Ciena successfully completed an extensive evaluation and field trial period managed by G4S, the project’s systems integrator and Ciena BizConnect partner, before being selected. Axia NGNetworks will be responsible for managing and maintaining the Internet backbone network for the MBI, and will provide fiber extensions to the network in response to market demand. 

Executive Comments: 

• “In order to compete in a global arena, it is imperative that communities have the necessary broadband infrastructure to spur economic development and stimulate new growth—that’s specifically the mission behind MassBroadband 123. By leveraging our coherent optical technology, and our experience providing infrastructure for other statewide networks, MBI will ensure that Massachusetts residents will have access to scalable, reliable, and high-speed network services to support and sustain public services and business for many years to come.”
  –   Chris Janson, senior industry market manager, public sector at Ciena 

• “MassBroadband 123 is a critical component of the Patrick Murray Administration’s strategy to invest in education, innovation and infrastructure in order to create growth and economic opportunity in every corner of the Commonwealth.”
  –   Judith Dumont, director of the Massachusetts Broadband Institute at MassTech 

Technology Background:

• Ciena’s 100G coherent optical technology is being deployed by a number of independent and regional telecommunications providers in the U.S., including OpenCape, DC-Net, U.S. Unified Community Anchor Network (US UCAN) via Internet2, Utah Education Network, and iFiber, among others.

• The pioneer and market leader in coherent technology for optical transmission, Ciena has to date shipped over 20,000 coherent 40G/100G line interfaces to more than 100 customers across the globe, with over 20 million coherent kilometers deployed worldwide.

• Ciena’s coherent optical technology, a critical component of the company’s OPⁿ architecture, enables service providers to build open, programmable next-generation networks that scale and automatically adapt to handle the changes created by cloud/data center migration, mobile broadband and the growing demand for high-bandwidth applications and services across the globe. 

Supporting Resources:

• Data Sheet: 6500 Packet-Optical Platform
• Application Note: Coherent Optical Processing for High-Capacity Networks
• Video: 100G and Beyond for Research & Education
• Video: What is Coherent Optical Networking?
• Video: Ciena WaveLogic Coherent Optical Processors

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. 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 March 13, 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.

Jamie Moody
Ciena Corporation
(214) 995-8035
jmoody@ciena.com

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