ADVA Optical Networking's FSP 2000 Supports Secure, Reliable Ethernet and Storage Services for Catholic Health System in Buffalo

Catholic Health System Selects ADVA's CWDM System as Cost-Effective Solution to Support Growth of Network and High-Bandwidth Applications


MAHWAH, N.J. and MARTINSRIED/MUNICH, Germany, Sept. 12, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- ADVA Optical Networking (Frankfurt:ADV) (Other OTC:ADVOF) today announced that Catholic Health System (CHS) in Buffalo, New York has deployed ADVA's Fiber Service Platform (FSP) 2000 optical networking solution to support bandwidth-intensive Ethernet and storage applications. ADVA's hybrid Coarse/Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (CWDM/DWDM) system provides secure, redundant backbone transport for a private fiber-optic network interconnecting Catholic Health System's 40 geographically dispersed facilities and can easily, affordably accommodate emerging bandwidth needs.

Catholic Health System teamed with Fibertech Networks to develop a 70-mile optical network over three years. ADVA's FSP 2000 platforms are deployed at three of the health system's sites -- two data centers and one hospital -- along the new network, which became fully operational in July.

"ADVA offers the most advanced CWDM/DWDM hybrid solution we found on the market," explained Doug Torre, director of networking and technology services for CHS. "In addition to the business case and value of the FSP 2000, what set ADVA apart was its demonstrated understanding of the healthcare market."

The ADVA FSP 2000 provides reliable, secure transport for more than 100 different services for CHS -- from standard, office applications such as patient billing and accounting to advanced, clinical services such as Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS), which allows caregivers to digitally store, manipulate and share cardiology and radiology images. CHS plans to soon implement storage services based on the Fibre Channel protocol, ensuring continuity of care in the event of network failure at any of its hospitals, primary care centers, diagnostic and treatment centers or other facilities.

"We sought a solution that would both prove affordable today and allow us to gradually add services without the expense of expanding the fiber infrastructure later," added Chuck Simet, network engineer with Catholic Health System. "ADVA provided a hybrid solution that could migrate without traffic interruption and allowed us to do upgrades without taking the system down."

Brian P. McCann, chief marketing and strategy officer with ADVA Optical Networking, said, "Catholic Health System is a great example of a busy and successful healthcare organization with demanding 24x7 performance and reliability needs. The advent of hybrid CWDM/DWDM networking is encouraging more enterprises than ever before to implement high-performance Ethernet and storage services. This is one of the most technologically advanced health information networks of its kind in the region. ADVA looks forward to continued partnership with CHS to cost-effectively deploy networking capabilities that provide maximum capacity into the future."

ADVA's FSP 2000 was launched in May 2001, and more than 3,000 systems have already been sold. Targeted toward enterprises and carriers, parallel use of CWDM/DWDM and muxponder technology enables up to 512 applications to be transported over one single fiber pair. The FSP 2000's robust character and ability to transport all protocols between 8Mbit/s and 10Gbit/s per wavelength make the product an ideal solution, particularly for large-scale, high-bandwidth networks.

About ADVA Optical Networking

ADVA Optical Networking (Frankfurt:ADV) is a leading global provider of optical networking solutions for rapid and cost-effective provisioning of high-speed data, storage, voice, and video services in the metropolitan area. ADVA's carrier-class Fiber Service Platform (FSP) product portfolio is explicitly designed to enhance services, simplify networks, and reduce the total cost of ownership. ADVA's solutions have been deployed at over 100 carriers and several thousand enterprises worldwide. ADVA's products are sold through an international network of blue-chip distribution partners in addition to its own direct sales force.

About Catholic Health System

Formed in 1998 under four religious sponsors, CHS provides healthcare to hundreds of thousands of Western New Yorkers across a network that includes: four hospitals, 10 primary care centers, nine diagnostic and treatment centers, a free standing surgery center, 11 long-term care facilities, adult homes, three home care agencies, counseling services, and social service and behavioral health programs. CHS' 8,000 employees and 1,200 physicians are part of a healing ministry dating back more than 150 years. Visit CHS online at www.chsbuffalo.org.



 PUBLISHED BY:
 ADVA Optical Networking Inc., Mahwah/New Jersey, USA
 ADVA AG Optical Networking, Martinsried/Munich and Meiningen, Germany
 ADVA Optical Networking Corp., Tokyo, Japan
 www.advaoptical.com

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