Ciena® (NYSE: CIEN) today announced it is extending the market reach of its industry-leading WaveLogic coherent modem technology by making it available to a range of industry participants. Optical component leaders Lumentum (NASDAQ: LITE), NeoPhotonics (NYSE: NPTN) and Oclaro (NASDAQ: OCLR) will each leverage Ciena’s WaveLogic technology to build coherent optical modules that offer industry-leading rates and reach to optimize networks across a wide range of applications. In addition, each of the companies will form part of an ecosystem that will focus on standards-based innovation to enable customer choice in the emerging 400G pluggable market, which is being driven by data center interconnect (DCI) requirements for greater scale, improved power efficiency and lower costs.

Key Facts:

  • While retaining its intellectual property, Ciena will supply its WaveLogic Ai chipset to Lumentum, NeoPhotonics and Oclaro, who will each be responsible for the manufacturing, sales and distribution of Ciena-designed 5x7 coherent modules based on the combination of WaveLogic and electro-optics components.
  • In addition, the companies will each contribute to the development of 400G pluggable technologies and the establishment of specifications ahead of relevant industry forums and standards-setting bodies. Ciena will invest in additional coherent DSP technology, which its partners intend to incorporate in the development of 400G pluggable modem solutions for a variety of hardware and systems vendors.
  • Lumentum, NeoPhotonics and Oclaro will also contribute to the development of a roadmap for future generations of coherent optical modules based on Ciena’s WaveLogic technology.

Executive Comments:

  • “Making our WaveLogic coherent optics available to other industry players facilitates greater choice for network operators while accelerating innovation and driving interoperability across the industry. And for Ciena, we’re able to further diversify our business by accessing new geographies and addressing new customer segments to maximize the monetization potential of our modem technology.”
    - James Frodsham, Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, Ciena

Live event:

Ciena executives will host a live event for the investment community today, March 20, 2017, at 2:30 PM (Pacific) at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The event will also be web broadcast live via www.ciena.com. Speakers include Jim Moylan, Chief Financial Officer; Steve Alexander, Chief Technology Officer; and James Frodsham, Chief Strategy Officer; who will provide additional detail on today’s news.

For those listeners unable to participate in the live web broadcast, an archived version will be available shortly following the conclusion of the live event in the Investor Relations/Events section of Ciena’s website at www.ciena.com.

About Ciena

Ciena (NYSE: CIEN) is a network strategy and technology company. We translate best-in-class technology into value through a high-touch, consultative business model – with a relentless drive to create exceptional experiences measured by outcomes. For updates on Ciena, follow us on Twitter @Ciena, LinkedIn, the Ciena Insights blog, or visit www.ciena.com.

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