Ciena's origin begins a quarter of a century ago as a pioneer in optical networking. Our story continues to evolve as we enable our clients to deliver richer, more connected experiences for their users and exceptional outcomes for their business.
1992
Ciena’s success led to its initial public offering in February 1997, at which time Ciena achieved a market capitalization of US $3.4 billion.
2001
2001 - 2005
2008
2009-2010
2018
2025
Ciena was incorporated, and quickly found success pioneering Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) technology, enabling the transport of greater volumes of information across networks.
1997
1998
Ciena’s long-haul optical transport platform enabled a service provider to transmit more than three million phone calls across a single fiber pair.
Ciena achieved annual revenue of US $1.6 billion, with its market capitalization reaching nearly $30 billion.
Despite a market downturn, Ciena made six bold acquisitions, investing heavily in its product portfolio and enhancing product functionality.
Ciena established Ciena Cares as a donation-matching program, which has since evolved into a global community engagement program and a cornerstone of Ciena's culture.
Ciena acquired Nortel Networks’ Metro Ethernet Networks (MEN), providing access to more diversified expertise and a deeper technology toolkit, and enabling Ciena to become the largest global supplier focused exclusively on the transition to converged optical-Ethernet based networking.
2015
To initiate another game-changing industry shift, Ciena acquired Cyan—making it possible for customers to better tune, control and adjust their networks.
Ciena acquired Packet Design and DonRiver to support the broadest range of closed-loop automation use cases and to further advance the Blue Planet Intelligent Automation Platform.
1992
2017
Ciena announced the availability of its WaveLogic coherent modem technology to optical component leaders Lumentum, NeoPhotonics, and Oclaro—addressing the industry’s shift toward disaggregated models and facilitating greater choice for network operators.
2019
Ciena added service assurance analytics and network performance management capabilities to round out its comprehensive software portfolio through the acquisition of Centina.
2020
As part of Ciena's dedication to drive digital inclusion, Ciena committed $10 million (USD) over five years to improve opportunities for underserved students worldwide through greater connectivity.
2021
Ciena acquired AT&T's Vyatta virtual routing and switching technology to extend its ability to help customers create virtualized networks and support 5G, enterprise, and cloud use cases.
2022
Ciena acquired Benu Networks and Tibit Communications to offer fully integrated broadband access solutions that combine routing, subscriber management, and PON features and functionality, to address residential broadband, enterprise business services, and fixed-wireless access use cases.
2024
Ciena delivered the industry’s first 1.6 Tb/s coherent solution and achieved record technology milestones across both terrestrial and submarine networks.