Ciena® Corporation (NASDAQ: CIEN), the network specialist, today announced that PalmettoNet, a provider of point-to-point, metro access and collocation services across digital fiber optic networks in the Carolinas and Georgia, has deployed the CN 4200® RS FlexSelect® Advanced Services Platform with reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer (ROADM) functionality, along with other products in Ciena’s CN 4200 family. PalmettoNet is using Ciena’s CN 4200 platform to increase its network capacity and create a more agile optical service infrastructure featuring remotely-programmable wavelengths and service ports, multiservice flexibility and intelligent service provisioning to reduce operational costs.

A carrier’s carrier with more than 3,100 fiber route miles, PalmettoNet leases capacity to prominent telecommunications carriers providing interstate, intrastate and interchange services in the Carolinas and Georgia. In the wholesale market, where customer demands for bandwidth can change quickly, reducing provisioning time is critical. To address that effectively, PalmettoNet selected Ciena’s CN 4200 ROADM because it delivers true multi-degree optical switching functionality combined with granular sub-wavelength grooming to maximize bandwidth utilization while increasing service flexibility. The platform also automatically adjusts optical power levels at each node to simplify the process and decrease the cost of adding new wavelengths into service.

“PalmettoNet’s reputation is built on a foundation of fast, reliable service delivery. Increasingly our focus is ensuring our network has the intelligent platforms and automation tools to help us mitigate the uncertainty of capacity planning and reduce the manual operations previously required for network design and service activation,” said Grey Humphrey, president of PalmettoNet. “Ciena’s CN 4200 ROADM gives us unique flexibility at the service and optical layers to accelerate our service delivery time while reducing our operational costs through remote provisioning and end-to-end service level management.”

The CN 4200 RS with ROADM functionality is deployed in multiple nodes to handle the dynamic wavelength routing and bandwidth provisioning across the PalmettoNet’s network. The carrier is also deploying other CN 4200 family products, including the CN 4200 MC at smaller network or amplification sites and the CN 4200 in locations for adding point-to-point wavelength services.

“As a carrier’s carrier, PalmettoNet needs to quickly deliver a wide variety of transport services – from full wavelengths to Gigabit Ethernet or OC-3 connections – between multiple points on its network, and the CN 4200 allows them to do so over a common network infrastructure with complete service transparency and unmatched resource efficiency,” said Mike Aquino, senior vice president, global field operations at Ciena. “This is an ideal environment for our hybrid ROADM solution and further demonstrates the value of driving intelligent software automation across our products so our customers can easily reconfigure network capacity and service type remotely from their operations center.”

As part of its on-going effort to automate many of its service provisioning and network management tasks with point-and-click simplicity, PalmettoNet also purchased Ciena’s ON-Center® Network and Service Management Suite. ON-Center includes advanced tools such as auto discovery of the network topology and deployed elements, service setup and teardown, statistics collection and analysis, configuration backup and restoration, and node level diagnostics and configuration control.

About PalmettoNet

PalmettoNet Inc., in business for over 20 years, is a major fiber optic transport company offering a full range of SONET and Ethernet circuit facilities between major cities in the Carolinas. For more information, please visit www.palmettonet.com.

About Ciena

Ciena specializes in practical network transition. We offer leading network infrastructure solutions, intelligent software and a comprehensive services practice to help our customers use their networks to fundamentally change the way they compete. With a global presence, Ciena leverages its heritage of practical innovation to deliver maximum performance and economic value in communications networks worldwide. 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 Investors

Forward-looking statements. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties. 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. Forward-looking statements relating to the transaction described herein include, but are not limited to, statements about the benefits of the transaction, including future financial and operating results, accretion to earnings per share arising from the transaction, integration costs, the expected amount and timing of cost savings and operating synergies, whether and when the transaction contemplated will be consummated, and the combined company's plans, expectations, objectives, and intentions. These statements are based on information available to Ciena as of the date hereof and actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties associated with Ciena’s business, which include the risk factors disclosed in Ciena’s Form 10-K filed with the SEC on December 22, 2009. Risks relating to the proposed transaction include, but are not limited to: the anticipated benefits and synergies of the proposed transaction may not be realized; the integration could be materially delayed or may be more costly or difficult than expected; and the proposed transaction may not be consummated. Ciena assumes no obligation to update the information included in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.