Swisscom, Ciena Get Certified

MADRID, Spain -- Ciena® Corporation (NASDAQ: CIEND*), the network specialist, and Swisscom today announced Carrier Ethernet certification for Swisscom's Carrier Optical Service (COS) and Ciena's optical Ethernet platforms - the CN4200(tm) FlexSelect(tm) Advanced Services Platform and CN 2300(tm) Managed Optical Services Multiplexer - that power COS. Both the Swisscom service and Ciena platforms have been certified to deliver Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) compliant Ethernet Private Lines based on the group's MEF9 technical specifications for Ethernet Services at the User Network Interface (UNI).

The Swiss market leader in Carrier Ethernet services, Swisscom has been connecting pharmaceutical, banking and other large enterprise customers with rigorous wide area network performance requirements with its Ethernet Private Line services for nearly two years on the Ciena platforms, in addition to offering storage extension and TDM connectivity services.

Carrier Optical Service is a transparent point-to-point Layer 1 service for high to very high dedicated bandwidth connecting LAN applications throughout Switzerland. Ciena's optical Ethernet platforms are sold to Swisscom and supported through a partnership with Ericsson.

The MEF's Carrier Ethernet Certification Program is designed to accelerate the rollout of Carrier Ethernet services by reducing the time and cost of equipment testing and providing end users with consistent, reliable services across service providers and network equipment. Both Ciena's platforms and Swisscom's service were tested by Iometrix in accordance with its MEF-approved "Test Plan for Ethernet Services at the UNI."

"We've seen tremendous uptake in our Carrier Optical Service from enterprises looking for flexible bandwidth options backed by strong service level agreements for mission-critical data center, business continuity and other wide area network applications," said Thomas Aeberhard, Head of Data Services, Swisscom Fixnet Wholesale. "As customers increasingly move to Ethernet and look for services that are standards-based, this Carrier Ethernet certification will only broaden the appeal of our market leading Carrier Optical Service."Ciena's CN 4200, the flagship product of its FlexSelect Architecture, is the first multiservice transport and service aggregation platform capable of supporting the migration to packet networks using future-ready technology such as ITU G.709 Optical Transport Network (OTN) for service transparency, dynamic wavelength routing featuring a hybrid ROADM solution, software-defined service ports, and remote service provisioning and management capabilities.

"As a Charter Member of the MEF, this certification reflects our early focus on developing innovative optical Ethernet platforms for delivering MEF-certified Carrier Ethernet services," said Martin Nuss, vice president and chief technologist at Ciena. "Swisscom was the first to deploy CN 4200 and we've worked closely with them to ensure our optical Ethernet platforms create a flexible network capable of delivering a variety of Carrier Ethernet and storage extension services with automated provisioning and advanced service level management."

Ciena Corp. (NYSE: CIEN)