XO Communications Selects Ciena for 100G Metro and Regional Network Upgrade

HERNDON, Va. & HANOVER, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--XO Communications, one of the nation’s largest service providers, and Ciena^® Corporation (NASDAQ: CIEN), the network specialist, today announced that XO Communications will use Ciena’s industry-leading Packet-Optical Transport technology to provide high-speed, high-capacity next-generation optical transport and business Ethernet services to enterprise and wholesale service provider customers in XO’s metropolitan and regional networks, nationwide. The newly-enhanced network will enable XO Communications to meet its enterprise customers’ growing demand for bandwidth capacity—at speeds of 100G and beyond—to deliver business critical Ethernet, storage and managed services applications with low latency, while supporting the company’s commitment to operational excellence, performance and value. XO Communications will also work with Ciena to offer 100G managed wavelength services to its large enterprise and wholesale service provider customers.

Key Facts:

XO Communications provides comprehensive managed network, IP communications, and IT infrastructure solutions to customers located across its extensive nationwide network, which serves 85 metropolitan markets. Its customer base includes more than 50 percent of the Fortune 500; 17 of the world’s 20 largest telecommunications companies; 8 of the top 10 mobile wireless companies; 9 of the top 10 cable companies; some of the most popular Internet search engines; as well as federal, state and local governments and agencies.
To differentiate its metro and regional service offerings and provide its customers with the high-speed, high-capacity connectivity required to deliver today’s increasingly bandwidth-intensive services and applications, XO Communications is deploying Ciena’s field-proven 6500 Packet Optical Platform with WaveLogic^™ coherent technology.
With the 6500’s integrated OTN switching capabilities, XO Communications will be able to scale for, and cost-effectively deliver, a mix of new and existing services and protocols—including OTN, SONET, Ethernet and Fibre Channel, as well as managed wavelength services—at speeds of 1G to 10G, 40G and 100G, and beyond.
XO Communications will deploy the 6500 in multiple chassis sizes to cost-effectively address configuration requirements in each unique metro and regional network. In the future, XO Communications will deploy Ciena’s OneConnect Intelligent Control Plane software on the 6500 to automate provisioning and management of its metro networks from the core to the edge, and leverage mesh restoration to improve network resiliency and service availability.
Ciena is also providing XO Communications with its OneControl Unified Management System, and a range of professional services for this deployment via its Ciena Specialist Services portfolio, including ongoing testing and support.
XO Communications has begun offering services on its newly-enhanced network in New York City, and plans to rapidly upgrade high-growth regions during the next 12 months.
A long time Managed Service Provider Partner within Ciena’s award winning BizConnect program, XO will introduce the 6500 into its carrier managed services offering and expand its go-to-market relationship with Ciena to address those key enterprise applications best served by this enhanced portfolio.

Executive Comments:

“XO Communications is committed to providing cutting-edge communications solutions to our customers with exceptional service, performance and value. When we looked to upgrade our metro and regional networks to 100G, we sought an experienced, innovative partner that could help us serve our customers, and also attract new business. Ciena’s coherent optical technology with integrated OTN switching gives us the ability to cost-effectively deliver a wide range of custom services and applications to our varied customer base with speed, flexibility and assurance, as well as the ability to go after new markets. This intelligent, programmable solution also gives us the tools to easily scale our network to meet customer requirements for capacity and speed for many years to come.”

- Randy Nicklas, senior vice president and CTO at XO Communications

“Our 6500 Packet Optical Platform and WaveLogic coherent optical technology, part of our OPⁿ programmable network architecture, provides XO Communications with significant bandwidth scalability, reliability and intelligence —critical building blocks for delivering competitive network services that ensure long-term customer satisfaction. Additionally, the ability to quickly and cost-effectively roll out new services will help the company to strengthen its leadership position, attract new business, and further differentiate itself in the highly competitive metro and regional services marketplace.”

- Francois Locoh-Donou, senior vice president, Global Products Group at Ciena

Technology Background:

Architected for network modernization, Ciena’s 6500 Packet-Optical Platform converges comprehensive Ethernet, TDM, and WDM capabilities into one platform for cost-effective delivery of emerging and existing services—from the access edge to the backbone core. 6500 systems also support directionless and colorless ROADM functionality, which combine with OTN/packet switching and Ciena's OneConnect Intelligent Control Plane to maximize the bandwidth efficiency and flexibility of the overall network.
Ciena's WaveLogic coherent optical processors enable operators to maximize the reach, capacity and flexibility of networks by supporting seamless upgrades to 40G/100G and beyond. Using innovative coherent receiver, high-speed analog to digital, and custom digital signal processing technology that integrates intelligence into the equipment, Ciena’s technology offers ease-of-deployment, cost efficiency and network investment protection.
Ciena is the pioneer and market leader of coherent optical technology with greater than 16,000 coherent 40G/100G line interfaces shipped to over 100 customers across the globe, with more than 15 million coherent kilometers deployed.

Supporting Resources:

Coherent Application Note: Coherent Optical Processing for High-Capacity Networks
Data Sheet: 6500 Packet-Optical Platform
White Paper: Addressing Network Uncertainty with an Intelligent Infrastructure
Video: What is Coherent Optical Networking?
Video: Optical Control Plane

About XO Communications

XO Communications is a leading nationwide provider of advanced communications, managed network and IT infrastructure services for business, large enterprise and wholesale customers. These customers include more than half of the Fortune 500, in addition to leading cable, mobile wireless and domestic and international telecommunications companies. XO offers a superior customer experience through its innovative data and IP solutions, its employees’ focus on customers and the proven performance of its advanced network. To learn more about XO Communications, visit www.xo.com or blog.xo.com. XO Communications is also on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn.

About Ciena

Ciena is the network specialist. We collaborate with customers worldwide to unlock the strategic potential of their networks and fundamentally change the way they perform and compete. With focused innovation, Ciena brings together the reliability and capacity of optical networking with the flexibility and economics of Ethernet, unified by services and software that delivers the industry’s leading network automation. 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 Ciena Investors

Forward-looking statements. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements are based on information available to the Company as of the date hereof; and Ciena's actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied, due to risks and uncertainties associated with its business, which include the risk factors disclosed in its Report on Form 10-Q, which Ciena filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 6, 2012. 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. Ciena assumes no obligation to update the information included in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.