UK carrier signs exclusive agreement for CIENA's multiservice metro and edge platforms

April 19, 2004 Linthicum, MD--THUS plc, a carrier that offers services throughout the United Kingdom, has signed an exclusive, two-year agreement with CIENA for the supply of its ONLINE multiservice platforms. THUS will deploy ONLINE Metro and ONLINE Edge products across its national network to economically increase network capacity in major commercial centers. This agreement is an expansion of CIENA's existing relationship with THUS plc. In February 2003, CIENA announced THUS would deploy ONLINE Edge for its City Ethernet service.

Under the new agreement, the ONLINE platforms will be used to increase capacity on THUS's existing metropolitan fiber rings. Specifically, THUS intends to consolidate its metropolitan network infrastructure with ONLINE Metro for greater capacity and flexibility allowing the carrier to continue introducing resilient services as its growing customer base demands. THUS will also deploy additional ONLINE Edge platforms from CIENA to further support its City Ethernet service, a product that allows enterprise customers to link multiple sites through private Gigabit Ethernet connections.

"CIENA's multiservice solutions provide THUS with the flexibility and scalability required to help us tailor our network according to our customers' specific service needs," said Phil Male, THUS plc chief operating officer. "The ONLINE platforms offer THUS the best solution that enables us to continue cost-effectively creating and delivering new high-value services."

CIENA's ONLINE Metro and ONLINE Edge platforms deliver multiple network services through intelligent DWDM and CWDM optical technology, respectively. With an emphasis on service aggregation, the platforms are designed for service providers who want to provide their customers a variety of high-bandwidth managed services over a single optical infrastructure.