ACADEMIA

Commitment to excellence has earned Ciena recognition as a 2011 Verizon Supplier Award winner. Honored by Verizon Communications, a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services, Ciena received the Supplier Recognition Award for Outstanding Performance in the Network Products Category.

Key Facts:

-- Ciena was one of only thirteen suppliers to receive a 2011 Verizon Supplier Award for its work in helping Verizon deliver outstanding service to its customers during the past year. Verizon’s annual award program recognizes suppliers that not only meet their performance objectives but exceed them.

-- Ciena was selected for this prestigious award based on a broad range of attributes including: -- consistently demonstrating technology innovation and leadership;

-- providing high quality of service;

-- strong teamwork; and,

-- enhancing the customer experience.

-- Ihab Tarazi, Verizon Vice President of Global Network Planning, presented the award to Ciena on March 26, 2012 at Verizon's Annual Supplier Summit and Recognition Program event.

Executive Comments:

-- “We are incredibly honored to be named Networking Supplier of the Year for Verizon, a long-standing strategic partner of Ciena. We have been collaborating with Verizon for more than a decade in the areas of high-speed transmission, intelligent mesh switching and data networking, and we look forward to continuing to support Verizon’s efforts to be at the forefront of technological innovation while meeting the demands on their network efficiently, intelligently and with superior performance.” - Gary Smith, president & CEO of Ciena