LINTHICUM, Md. and RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- Ciena Corporation (NASDAQ: CIEN), the network specialist, and Mobily, the region's fastest growing mobile operator, today announced the activation of the first commercial 100 Gigabit per second (Gb/s) network in the Middle East. This regional first, deployed within the Riyadh metropolitan area, is an extension of Mobily's highly resilient, adaptable and scalable nationwide network.

Mobily, which owns more than 40 percent of Saudi Arabia's mobile market, recently announced its selection of optical transport and switching platforms, Carrier Ethernet solutions, as well as management and maintenance services from Ciena - all aimed at supporting high-bandwidth services. The 100G coherent service delivered on Ciena's ActivFlex 6500 Packet-Optical Platform - the industry's first commercially available system equipped with coherent 100G optics - is key to that architecture. Mobily's new 100G capabilities give the operator the ability to quickly and easily add network capacity in the crucial metropolitan area of Riyadh.

"This 100G deployment demonstrates our ongoing focus on innovation, aimed at bringing leading edge technology offerings to our customers," said Abdul Aziz Al Tamami, chief operations officer at Mobily. "The demand for bandwidth coming from Saudi businesses is growing steadily, and applications like video, teleconferencing and cloud computing are fuelling a significant portion of this growth. By embracing Ciena's 100G coherent technology, we are capable of fulfilling the needs of even the most demanding of our customers, while future-proofing our network for the years to come."

Ciena's 100G coherent technology will allow for a total throughput of 8.8 Terabits of data per second on Mobily's network, carried over 88 optical channels on a single strand of optical fiber.

"Our close work with Mobily represents a clear validation of the leading-edge offerings across our product portfolio, from Carrier Ethernet to intelligent optical switching to 100G coherent transmission. We are especially pleased to join Mobily in deploying the first 100G network in the Middle East, reinforcing our reputation as the leader in live field deployments of coherent optical systems," said Francois Locoh-Donou, Ciena's vice president and general manager for EMEA.

Ciena Corp. (NYSE: CIEN)

Etihad Etisalat Co. (Mobily)