Reliance Globalcom Upgrades Asia Submarine Cable Network with Ciena’s Coherent 40G Technology

Asia’s first in-service coherent 40G submarine solution brings massive capacity increases to two routes spanning 5,000 kilometers each between Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong

LINTHICUM, Md. — 09/06/2011

Ciena® Corporation (NASDAQ:CIEN, news, filings), the network specialist, today announced that Reliance Globalcom, the leading global provider of managed network and communication services for multinational enterprises and carriers, completed an upgrade of its FNAL submarine network with Ciena’s market-leading coherent 40G optical networking solution. The first coherent 40G submarine network in Asia, Reliance Globalcom’s enhanced network brings massive capacity increases to two key routes that each span approximately 5,000 kilometers to connect Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong.

Key Facts:

• Reliance Globalcom owns one of the world’s largest private undersea cable systems that spans a total of 65,000 kilometers. When combined with the 190,000 kilometers of domestic fiber of its parent company, Reliance Communications, the global network connects 40 key business markets across India, the Middle East, Asia, Europe and the United States.
• Powered by Ciena’s industry-leading WaveLogic™ coherent optical processors, the upgraded submarine cable network will add a total of four terabits per second (Tbps) of capacity and lay the foundation for a path to 100G in the near future.
• Ciena provided Reliance Globalcom its 6500 Packet-Optical Platform with 40G ultra long haul interfaces, which are designed to significantly increase submarine network capacity without disrupting existing customer traffic or adding cost and complexity to the network.
• Ciena also provided Deployment Services and quickly turned up the system with in-service traffic migration from existing 10G to coherent 40G.  To ensure optimal network performance, Reliance Globalcomm is also utilizing Ciena’s network management software solutions.
• This upgrade is also believed to be the first submarine deployment with reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexers (ROADM), which provide flexibility to add or drop select wavelengths at intermediate sites. In addition to reducing latency on the route, this gives Reliance Globalcom the ability to quickly react to changing traffic demands and increase network availability.
• This deployment builds on a long-standing relationship between Ciena and Reliance Globalcom and its parent company Reliance Communications. Earlier this year, the companies announced a separate 40G ultra long haul deployment on the Reliance Globalcom network to support a 6,400 kilometer submarine link connecting the UK, Spain, Italy and Egypt.
• More recently, Reliance Communications leveraged Ciena’s coherent 40G solutions to support an upgrade of its nationwide long-haul network in India. The enhanced backbone infrastructure offers higher capacities and improved scale to support the Reliance Communications’ wireless and wireline broadband initiatives, including the delivery of its recently launched 3G services.

Executive Quotes:

“Ciena’s solution enables us to provide four times the bandwidth with a simple card upgrade, removing the need for costly and complex infrastructure changes,” said Rory Cole, COO Carrier Business at Reliance Globalcom. “We have a fantastic partnership with Ciena and have been impressed by their optical technology leadership, the success of our recent trial activities and their long-standing relationship with our parent company. We chose Ciena because of their demonstrable track record in helping service providers to deliver innovative and highly reliable communications services.”

“We’re pleased to support Reliance Globalcom in deploying Asia’s first high-capacity submarine network with ROADM functionality, which provides greater flexibility to route traffic quickly and more effectively address changing traffic demands,” said Ed McCormack, vice president and general manager of international accounts and submarine systems at Ciena. “Ciena’s submarine solutions are vital for leading providers like Reliance Globalcom which are focused on increasing network capacity without disrupting existing customer traffic or adding cost and complexity to the network.”

Technology Leadership and Product Background:

• Ciena’s WaveLogic coherent optical processors enable operators to maximize the reach, capacity and flexibility of submarine networks with a focus on ease-of-deployment, cost efficiency and network investment protection. Using innovative coherent receiver and dual polarization phase shift key (DP PSK) modulation technology, Ciena’s technology enables seamless upgrades to 40G/100G on submarine networks with only the addition of new terminal equipment, significantly extending the life of existing cable plants.
• The pioneer in coherent optical technology, Ciena is also the market leader in this area, with more than 8500 coherent 40G/100G line interfaces shipped to more than 80 customers across the globe, including deployments in eight countries across the Asia Pacific region.
• With the ability to be deployed over any existing line system, Ciena’s 6500 supports both 40G and 100G coherent transmission with more than 7.8 million coherent kilometers deployed.

Supporting Resources and Multimedia:

• Submarine Application Note: Submarine Solutions for an Increasingly Competitive Market
• Coherent Application Note:  Coherent Optical Processing for High-Capacity Networks
• Data Sheet: 6500 Packet-Optical Platform
• White paper: Survivable Submarine Optical Networks
• Video: Ciena’s 100G Technology Increases the Capacity of Major Submarine Networks
• Video: What is Coherent Optical Networking?

Investor Contacts:
Gregg Lampf
Ciena Corporation
(888) 243 6223
ir@ciena.com

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